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THE BOOKS 



OF 



Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I. and II. Samuel, 
L AND II. Kings. 



THE COMMON VERSION REVISED 



WITH 



AN INTRODUCTION AND OCCASIONAL NOTES. 



By 



THOMAS JTCONANT. 




^•:^^orW.<u;,7^-^i;^ 



PHILADELPHIA: VC/t:^ f ^ 
American Baptist Publication Society, 
No. 1420 Chestnut Street. 



\ 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1884, by 

THOMAS J. CONANT, 
In the OflBce of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



2: TO THE READER. 

^ 

> 

In this volume is given the history of the occupation of Palestine 
by the Hebrews, from their entrance into it under Joshua to their 
subjugation and dispersion in foreign lands by the Assyrian and 
Babylonian conquests. It is complete in itself, and in many aspects 
is the most interesting and instructive part of the history of that 
remarkable race. The Introduction treats of the value of these books 
as a part of Divine revelation ; of the grounds for the extermina- 
tion of the idolatrous races and its necessity ; of the composition of 
these books, the authorship, sources, and dates. 

The revised version is made in the familiar words of the common 
EngHsh version, where that truly expresses the meaning of the sacred 
writer's language. That version is jastly admired for "the rhythmic 
beauty of its periods, and the instinctive art with which the style 
rises and falls with the subject." I trust it will be found that these 
characteristics are not lost in the numerous corrections necessarily 
made. 

Explanatory notes are added only where it seemed necessary for 
the right understanding of the text ; and these are required more 
in the later than in the earlier portions of the history. 

On the alleged contradiction between vv. 3, 4 and v. 12 of the eighth 
chapter of Joshua, see page xxiii. of the Introduction. 

T. J. CONANT. 

Dtccmher, 1883. 



INTRODUCTION. 



§ 1. 

Value of the historical books of the Old Testajnent. 
Their place in the Divine Canon. 

This volume contains tlie following historical books : — Joshua, Judges, 
Euth, first and second Samuel, first and second Kings. In these books 
is given the history of the conquest and occupation of Palestine by the 
Hebrews, from their entrance into the land of Canaan under Joshua, to their 
subjugation and dispersion in other lands by the Assyrian and Babylonian 
conquests. The history is therefore complete in itself. It records, in 
broad outlines as well as in minute details, all the varying fortunes of the 
people, till the extinction of their nationality, and the overthrow of their 
national institutions. It covers a period of about eight and a half cen- 
turies. 

The book of Joshua takes up the narrative where it was left near the 
close of Deuteronomy. (See Deut. 31 : 1-8.) The new era in the sacred 
history, commencing with the call of Abraham (Gen. 12 : 1), is here re- 
sumed ; and the development of the Divine purpose, in connection with 
the history of his posterity, is thenceforward the great theme of the 
Hebrew Scriptures. 

It may be well, at this point, to trace the unity of design pervading 
these sacred writings. 

1. They reveal, in the book of Genesis, God's relation to the universe 
as its creator, and its rightful proprietor and sovereign. 

2. They then record the early history and the universal corruption of 
mankind, and the manifestation of God's righteous abhorrence of evil in 
the destruction of the guilty race. 



VIU INTRODUCTION. 



3. They relate the history of the new race of man, till it becomes mani- 
fest that this signal lesson is without effect ; that the tendency to evil is 
innate and universal, with no power of self-renovation. 

4. They then record the initiatory steps for the renovation of man, and 
for perpetuating the knowledge and worship of the true God. 

5. Thenceforward they are occupied with the history of the individual 
race, through which this Divine purpose was to be effected. 

6. In the fullness of time, and after a protracted period of probation, 
in which its necessity was fully shown, this purj^ose was accomplished in 
the coming of the Divine Deliverer. 

This singleness of purpose, and continuity of plan, are seen running 
through all these sacred Scriptures. All else is incidental, and subsidiary 
to the main design. Without this prolonged test of man's inability for 
self-renovation, the history of the Divine government would have been 
fragmentary, incomplete, and unsatisfying. 

The value of these books, in themselves and in their organic connection 
with other parts of the Scriptures, may be briefly summarized as follows : — 

1. Confirmation of sacred story, of a Supreme and overruling Power in 
all its successive stages ; in the calling of Abraham and the promises to 
him and his posterity ; in their predicted bondage in Egypt, and deliver- 
ance therefrom ; in their conquest of the promised land, and occupation 
of its whole extent under Solomon's reign (Gen. 15 : 18, compared with 
1 Kings 4 : 21) ; in their removal from it, and dispersion among other 
peoples ; in their predicted restoration to it, that in them might be fulfilled 
the promised coming of the great Deliverer ; in their rejection of him, and 
rejection by him ; in their predicted sifting among the nations taking root 
in none (Amos 9:9), witnessing to this day to the truth of Scriptural his- 
tory and of Scriptural prophecy. For another history like this, so inter- 
woven with the highest destinies of the human race, the records of all 
nations would be searched in vain. 

2. Continuity of the Divine purpose in human redemption. See the 
final remarks at the end of second Kings. 

3. Illustration in one people of the Divine dealings with all, by influ- 
ences of the same nature, differing only in degree and the methods 
employed. 

4. Failure of mental illumination, knowledge, and culture, to restrain, 
or properly direct, the inherent tendencies to evil. 

In harmony with the teachings of these Divine books are the teachings 
of God in nature. All inquiry into the nature of man and springs of 



INTEODUCTION. IX 



human action, and observation of Divine providence, concur in showing that 
God seeks the recovery of fallen man to rectitude and his favor. (2 Peter 
3:9.) To this end he employs every means consistent with human free- 
dom and personal accountability. In no age, and in no people, has he 
"left himself without witness." (Acts 14 : 17.) If men would act in ac- 
cordance with the requirements of their own nature, and with the obvious 
teachings of Divine providence, as in the common concerns of life, they 
could not miss the right way. Daily experience teaches what are the con- 
ditions of individual welfare, and of the well-being of communities. 
Thoughtful and observing men find in these facts of experience the 
natural laws under which they live. They accept them as the laws of their 
own being, to be strictly obeyed or the penalty suffered. It is no less cer- 
tain, that if men would give heed to the light that is in them, and that 
shines around them in nature and Providence, they would rise above the 
seen and temporal to the unseen and eternal. " That which may be known 
of God is manifest in them ; for God manifested it to them." (Rom. 1 : 19.) 
They who seek after God, following the light given them, do not seek him 
in vain. 

It follows, that God's government is the same over all the races of men. 
He governs all by the same motives, addressed to the intelligence and the 
moral nature of man. The powers of observation, of reflection, of reason- 
ing, and of volition and purpose, are given to all. The rule of law is : Use 
them aright, or incur the penalty. For the complete development of the 
Divine economy of redemption, it was necessary that the power of law 
should be fully tested under circumstances the most favorable. For this 
end a people w^as set apart, whose origin, and the traditions of whose his- 
tory, peculiarly fitted them for the purpose. Their origin they traced from 
one who was Divinely called from an idolatrous race to be a worshipper of 
the true God, and received from him the prophetic promise that in his 
posterity all nations should be blessed. By the favor of that God they were 
delivered from an oppressive bondage, and were brought with many mani- 
festations of his x^resence and power into the possession of their ancestral 
inheritance. All this they owed to the only true God, the Maker of heaven 
and earth, before whom all the gods of the nations were vanity and a lie. 

In the land of their inheritance they were still under his protection and 
guidance. Divine teachers were appointed them, who made known his 
will. Prophets were sent to warn them of the fatal consequences of diso- 
bedience, and show the bright destiny that awaited them if faithful to their 
allegiance. Well might the prophet say : " What could have been done 
more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it ? " (Isaiah 5 : 4.) 



INTEODTJCTION. 



The attentive reader will find many instructive lessons in the books of 
Kings. The inefiicacy of law, under the most favorable conditions, to re- 
strain the innate tendencies to evil, was fully tested and proved. No nobler 
mission, or weightier responsibihties, could be intrusted to any people. 
They were a spectacle to the idolatrous nations around them ; and through 
them, as representatives of the true God, was to be determined the choice 
between Jehovah and idol-gods. But the service of a holy and righteous 
God, salutary as were all its religious and moral requirements, imposed 
restraints not willingly borne. That of idol-gods interposed no such bar- 
riers. It required no purity of spirit, or purity of hfe ; no denial of self, 
no restraint of the appetites and passions ; these found unrestricted indul- 
gence in the impure rites of idol-worship. The same innate tendencies, 
which had corrupted the neighboring nations, drew them also away from 
the ser\dce of a pure and holy God. The Apostle Paul, in a few pregnant 
words, sums up the whole : "What the law could not do, in that it was 
weak through the flesh." (Kom. 8 : 3.) 

The dispensation of law, in its relation to the plan of redemption, is 
thus brought to a close. See the concluding remarks at the end of second 
Kings. 

§ 2. 

Subjugation and Occupation of the Promised Land. 

The people had now come to the banks of the Jordan ; and Joshua is 
directed to pass over with them, and take possession of their inheritance. 
The language of Jehovah (Josh. 1 : 3, 4) is in substance a repetition of the 
promise made to Abraham, as recorded in Gen. 15 : 18. He there says : 
"To thy seed I give this land, from the river of Egypt unto the gi'eat river, 
the river Euphrates."* That the promise was made cannot be questioned, 
without denying the truth of the record in both of these passages. Its 
validity cannot be doubted, without questioning the right of the Creator 
and Supreme Ruler to govern the world which he has made, and to pre- 
scribe and enforce the conditions on which its possession may be held and 
enjoyed. That he may rightfully dispossess those who refuse allegiance to 
him, who disregard his authority and reject him as their lawgiver, is as 
certain as that he created and governs all, and determined the bounds of 

* " These are the ternis of this Divine deed of gift. The subsequent history of the Israel- 
ites, taken in connection with it, is an instructive commentary on the relation of human action 
to the declared purpose of God." The WTiter's note on Gen. 15 : 18. 



INTEODUCTION. XI 



their habitation.* (Acts 17 : 16.) On the part of the Israehtes, there could 
be no question of their right, and of their duty. " They took possession of 
the land, because God bade them do so." (Speaker's Commentary.) They 
were in turn dispossessed of their inheritance, when they had shown them- 
selves unworthy of it. 

Extermination of the Idolatrous Races. 

The grounds of this are to be sought, -^r.si^, in the purpose of God in 
giving this land to Abraham and his descendants ; second, in the character 
of the inhabitants, and in the obstacles it opposed to the attainment of 
that end. 

Centuries before. Divine wisdom had made choice of this favored region 
as the abode of his people, among whom his name and worship should be 
perpetuated. In calling Abraham to this land, and giving it to him and 
his posterity, God claimed and exercised his right so to give it. That he 
might certify the gift to all, and himself as the giver, he recorded his name 
upon it. For Abraham, on his entrance into the land under Divine direc- 
tion, and at his first halting-place, nearly in the geographical centre of the 
country, erected an altar to Jehovah. (Gen. 12 : 7.) "Wherever he halted 
for a time in his subsequent journeyings, and fixed his temporary abode, 
he "built there an altar to Jehovah, and called on the name of Jehovah." 
(Ch. 12 : 8.) See chs. 13 : 4, 18 ; 21 : SS.f A like record is given of Isaac 
(26 : 25), and of Jacob (33 : 20). Thus the land was dotted with Jehovah's 
altars, and he was not left without witness there. Though idolatry was 
prevalent in the land, it had not yet taken deep root overshadowing with 
its baneful and corrupting influence the land and its inhabitants as in later 
times. This is clearly shown in the history of the three patriarchs. There 
is no indication of molestation from it in their worship of Jehovah, or of 
hindrance in their journeyings from place to place, and in their free inter- 
course with the people. Abraham was a recognized prince among the 
natives of the land. (Ch. 23 : 6.) He was confederate with ancestors of 
the Amorites (14 : 13) ; and he was in covenant with one of the kings of 
the Phihstines (21 : 32), in whose land he was made free to clweU where he 
pleased (20 : 15), and where he abode for a long time (21 : 34). The cove- 
nant was renewed with Isaac (26 : 28, 29) ; and in both cases, the Philistine 

* Its duration, in time and in extent. (Meyer, on the passage.) 

t "Every place where he dwelt became a temple of the Eternal God. Thus his life was a 
witness to that faith in the One God, which is the groundwork of the civilization of our age, 
and is diffusing its blessings around the world.'' The writer's note on Gen. 1^; .6, 7. 



XU INTBODUCTION. 



king acknowledged the favor of Jehovah as the cause of their temporal 
prosperity, and as a reason for seeking and maintaining amicable relations 
-svith them. (21 : 2'2 ; 2G : 28.) Such was then the feehng towards them, 
on the part of the inhabitants of the land. " Arise," said God to Abraham, 
"walk through the land, in its length and in its breadth." (Ch. 13 : 17.) 
All was his and for his use, though a stranger in it. 

Centuries had now passed, and all was changed. The germs of idolatry 
had reached their complete development. They had effaced every vestige 
of Jehovah's name and worship, and in place of them Avere the worst 
abominations of heathenism. The iniquity of the Amorites (representing 
all) was now full ;* in other words, they had "filled up the measure of their 
fathers," and were fitting objects of the Divine displeasure, as an example 
and a warning. 

The Israelites, when they entered into the land of their inheritance, 
were confronted by forms of heathenism, the most corrupting and debas- 
ing to humanity, and dishonoring to God. "What originally was adoration 
of the powers of nature, disowning nature's God, had by its own inherent 
degeneracy become a worship of vice, in its most odious and revolting- 
forms. Where once stood the altar of Jehovah, now rose the temple of the 
goddess of unchastity.f Her temples were numerous, and scattered over 
the whole country. She is mentioned as worshipped at Zidon (1 Kings 
11 ; 33) ; by the Philistines (1 Sam. 31 : 10) ; on the east of the Jordan 
(at Ashteroth-Karnaim,| Gen. 14 : 5) ; and her sculptured images were 
found there by Mr. Porter among the ruins of ancient cities, showing the 
wide prevalence of her worship. So numerous were her votaries, that her 
temples were thronged ; and her worship, of which lewdness was the dis- 
tinguishing characteristic, was maintained from the wages of unchastity. 
The service required of woman in these temples of impurit}^, if she would 
win the favor of the goddess, was the sacrifice of her virtue. Even of 
maidens this sacrifice was required in many temples, before they were 
permitted to marry. 

* 8ee Gen. 15 : IG, and the writer's note : — " Is not yet full. , . . This is the key to many 
of the dark ways of Providence, as regards individuals as well as nations ; and all human 
history is the illustration of this Divine forbearance and delayed but sure justice." 

t Ashtoreth, the supreme female divinity and goddess of licentiousness, as Baal was the 
supreme male divinity. See the vrriter's note on Gen. 14 : 5, fifth paragraph, and on Judges 
2 : 13. 

i So-called by anticipation, as were Beth-el and Ai in Gen. 13 : 3, though neither was so 
named till long after (Gen. 18 : 19 ; Josh. 8 : 28). 



INTRODUCTION. Xlll 



A special class of devotees of her temples bcra the distinctive appella- 
tion of the Consecrated ;* namely, to tha impure service of the goddess, to 
the support of whose worship their guilty gains were devoted. Under the 
same appellation was included also the class of male devotees of the idol- 
temples, described by the Apostle in Rom. 1 : 27 

Baal, the supreme male divinity of the idolatrous races, was among 
them the natural rival and antagonist of Jehovah. The worship of Jeho- 
vah and that of Baal were in direct competition. Each claimed to be the 
supreme deity. Neither could be acknowledged as such without subvert- 
ing the other. " If Jehovah be God, follow him ; and if Baal, then follow 
him." (1 Kings 18 : 21.) There was no third choice. One or the other 
must be God. Had the Israelites carried out the instructions given them, 
this antagonism would have been put at rest. But through their disobe- 
dience and negligence Baal was left to contest the supremacy with Jehovah ; 
and the fascinations of his worship were a snare to the people, withdrawing 
them from the service of the true God. 

The origin of this debasing and corrupting worship, in the adoration 
of the sun and moon as representing the imparting and the receptive pow- 
ers of nature, is referred to in the following lines of Job, ch. 31 : 26-28 : — 

26 If I saw the sun, how it shined, 
And the moon walking in majesty ; 

27 And my heart in secret was beguiled, 
And my hand my mouth hath kissed ; 

28 This, too, were a crime to be judged, 

For I should have been false to God on high. 

From the deification of the powers of nature, as active and generative, 
or passive and susceptive, arose the distinction of male and female divini- 
ties. These were fashioned after the ideas and passions of their votaries, 
and came to be worshipped in every form of sensuality and obscenity. 
Such, for example, was the worship of the Phallus, as symbol of nature's 
procreative power. Such, too, was the worship of Ashera, a female idol, 
the goddess of concupiscence, represented by significant wooden images or 
pillars ; and hence her image or pillar, erected for her worship, is often 
meant by this word, as in Judges 6 : 25, 2G. Her worship was naturally 

V. 27. It was customary to kiss the idol, as a form of adoration. (1 Kings 19 : 18 ; Hos. 
13 : 2 ) In the case of remote objects, as the sun and moon, the hand touched the mouth, 
and waved to them a kiss in token of homaare. The writer's note on Job 31 : 27. 



* "The name, and the custom on which it was founded, only partially reveal the fearful 
corruption of religion and morals wherever idolatry prevailed." The writer's note on Gen. 
38 : 21, 22, 



XIV INTRODUCTION. 



associated with that of Baal, as in this passage. The word grove or its 
plural, in the common version, is a mistranslation of the Hebrew word.* 
The name Ashera, or its plural, should be retained in the version ; mean- 
ing either the goddess herself as in 2 Kings 21 : 7, "a carved image of 
Ashera," or more commonly the pillars reared to her, the disgusting emblems 
of her obscene rites. The pillar was a straight upright trunk of a tree stripped 
bare, standing where it grew, or set in the ground. Some suppose the 
idol to have been the same as Ashtoreth, and worshipped under this name 
with Phallic emblems and rites. In Israel alone, as we are told in 1 Kings 
18 : 11), her prophets numbered four hundred ; showing how widespread 
was this foulest of the abominations of heathenism. f It is maintained by 
some distinguished Hebraists, that the Hebrew word translated idol in 
1 Kings 15 : 13, literally meaning something horrid, monstrous, was applied 
to a Phallus-statue erected to Ashera by the dowager-queen Maachah.J 
See notes on the Hebrew text. 

Besides the more strictly national idols, whose temples and worship 
overspread the land, there were also local ones. Famous among these was 
Dagon, the fish-god of the Philistines. See 1 Sam. 5 : 1-4, and the writer's 
note. Keference is made to his worship in Gaza (Judges 16 : 21-23), and 
his temple at Ashdod is expressly mentioned in 1 Sam. 5 : 2, and 1 Chron. 
10 : 10. That he was also worshipped elsewhere is implied in the name 
Beth-Dagon (House of Dagon) in southern Judaea, Josh. 15 : 41, and in 
Asher, Josh. 19 : 27. Long after, the kindred female idol Derceto, partly 
human, partly fish, still had her temples at Ashkelon. The spirit of the 
conflict, waged between the true and the false religions, is shown by the 
triumph of Dagon's votaries in his imagined victory over the untruthful 
represei;itative of Jehovah's power. See Judges 16 : 23, 24, and the 
writer's note on the 89th page. 

Rimmon, an idol of the Syrians of Damascus, is mentioned in 2 Kings 
5 : 18. His worship is thought by some to have been " a relic of the ancient 
tree-worship," which prevailed in Palestine. Others suppose him to have 
been the Sun-god of the Syrians. See the article Rimmon in Smith's Dic- 
tionary of the Bible, and in Kitto's Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature. 

* Exceptintwopassages, Gen.21 : 33, and 1 Sam. 22 : 6 (margin), "whero a dififerent Hebrew 
■word is used. 

t See the article Ashera, in Smith's Dictionary of tho Bible. 

i Fiirst, Hebrew Lexicon :—" a hoi-ror, terror, monstrosit;i ; then the name of a Phallus- 
Btatue for tho idol Ashera."— Biihr, in Lange's Commentary, says that this word "means 
horrendum, and no doubt refers to a Phallus-image, which was something terrible and detes- 
table to the Hebrews." — See also the article Idol, Image, 4, in Smith's Dictionary of the Bible. 



INTRODUCTION. XY 



Chemosli, the idol-god and supreme deity of the Moabites. See 1 Kings 
11 : 7, and the writer's note on the passage.* 

Moloch, more properly written Molech,f the idol-god of the Ammonites, 
was one of the chief divinities of the Phoenicians and the Canaanites. He 
is rightly stigmatized as " the abomination of the Ammonites." (1 Kings 
11 : 5.) No milder term could be applied to this monstrous outgrowth of 
heathenism. His rites were shocking to every instinct of humanity. 
Wherever his name is mentioned, it is connected with the sacrifice of 
children. (Lev. 20 : 2-5.) Infant children were offered up to him by fire. 
Fathers and mothers could propitiate the idol, only by passing their chil- 
dren through the flames. That this was literally required as a propitiatory 
sacrifice to appease the idol, and not a purification by passing unharmed 
between the fires, is shown by many allusions to it. In Deut. 12 : 31, the 
writer says of the idolatrous nations of Canaan : " Every abomination to 
Jehovah which he hates have they done to their gods ; for even their sons 
and their daughters they have burned in the fire to their gods." *'They 
have built the high places of Tophet, ... to burn their sons and their 
daughters in the fire." (Jer. 7 : 31.) "He (Ahaz) made his son pass 
through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen." (2 Kings 
16 : 3.) The same sacrifices were offered to Baal. "They have built also 
the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt- offerings to 
Baal." (Jer. 19 : 5.) The idol Chemosh of the Moabites was propitiated 
by the same inhuman rites. When the Moabite king saw that the battle 
was against him, "he took his eldest son, who would have reigned in his 
stead, and offered him for a burnt-offering upon the wall." 2 Kings 3 : 27, 
and the writer's note. 

Thus it is seen that this favored land, chosen of God to perpetuate his 
name and worship, and hallowed by his altars, was now wrested from its 
purpose, and his altars everywhere supplanted by those of false gods. 
Idolatry, with its polluting and de-humanizing rites, had taken such hold 
of the popular mind, infusing its poison into all the relations and condi- 
tions of life, from infancy to age, that nothing short of extirpation would 
uproot and totally destroy the deadly evil. This was expressly commanded. 
In Numbers 33 : 51-53, we read : "When ye have passed over the Jordan, 

* " He seems to have been widely worshipped in Western Asia. His name occurs frequently 
on the ' Moabite Stone.' Car-Chemish, ' the fort of Chemosh,' a great city of the northern 
Hittites, must have been under his protection."— /Sipeafce?-'s Commentary. 

t As in Lev. 18 : 21, and 20 : 2, 3, 4, 5 ; 1 Kings 11 : 7 ; 2 Kings 23 : 10 ; Jer. 32 : 35. He is 
also named Milcom, 1 Kings 11 : 5, 33, and 2 Kings 23 : 13, and may be meant by the possibly 
mis-pointed Malkam (their king), Jer. 49 : 1.— See the note on 1 Kings 11 : 5. 



XYl INTRODUCTION. 

then Bliall ye drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and 
destroy all their images of stone, and all their molten images shall ye de- 
stroy, and take away all their high places ; and ye shall take possession of 
the land, and shall dwell therein ; for I have given you the land to possess 
it." In V. 55 we find the ground for this mandate, and its imperative 
necessity : *' But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from 
before you, then will they whom ye let remain of them be pricks in your 
eyes, and thorns in your sides, and they will vex you in the land wherein 
ye dwell. And it shall come to pass, that as I thought to do unto them, I 
will do unto you." More explicitly it is said (Deut. 20 : 16-18): "Of the 
cities of these j^eoples . . . thou shalt save alive nothing that has 
breath, but thou shalt utterly destroy them ; to the end that they may not 
teach you to do after all their abominations which they have done unto 
their gods." 

So effectually did Divine wisdom provide against contamination from 
all the multiform idolatries that had usurped the place of Jehovah's worship. 
It is enough that God commanded it, and had the right to command it. 
But it was no arbitrary mandate. Its justice is clearly manifest from what 
has ah-eady been said. Its wisdom is no less evident, as the necessary 
means of the highest good, both to that age and to all succeeding ones. It 
has been well said by one who will not be suspected of bigotry or fanati- 
cism,* that " The Israelites' sword, in its bloodiest executions, wa-ought a 
work of mercy for all the countries of the earth to the very end of the 
world. . . . They preserved unhurt the seed of eternal life, and were 
the ministers of blessing to all other nations. . . . Let us but think 
what might have been our fate, and the fate of every other nation under 
heaven at this hour, had the sword of the Israehtes done its work more 
sparingly." And on the other hand, how different would it have been with 
them, and how changed would have been the current of human history, 
had they been more faithful to the duty Divinely enjoined on them ! The 
light that now shines so brilliantly from the pages of the few faithful and 
obedient ones, would have had no dark margin of unbelief, disobedience, 
and chastisement. 

"W'as then the Divine purpose frustrated, and without effect ? Far from 
it. The inefficacy of law, to elevate and direct aright the evil tendencies 
of our nature, was fully proved. The richest treasures of Divine song, and 

* Dr. Thomas Arnold, of Rugby. Sermons, \i. 35-37, quoted by Dean Stanley, Lectures on 
the Jewish Church, Lect. XI., pp. 283-285. 



INTRODUCTION. XYll 



of prophetic vision, were the product of this period ; and these have be- 
come the light and glory of christian civilization, in the most advanced 
stage of intellectual culture. 

§3. 

Composition of these Boohs. 

As in some other portions of the Old Testament, the writers of these 
books are not mentioned by name. The authority of a book claimed to be 
Divine does not depend on the individual writer * Its credibihty, as an 
historical narrative, is determined by those tests which historical criticism 
appHes to such compositions. These writings have borne, unshaken, the 
most searching appHcation of these tests. The narration is a simple state- 
ment of facts, everywhere consistent with itself, without exaggeration or 
repression, free from partiality or prejudice in dealing with persons and 
their acts, recording the frailties alike of the high and the low, the monarch 
and the subject, the most honored and those of least account, with the same 
freedom and impartiality. 

These books have always formed a part of the Scriptures of the Old 
Testament, called in the New Testament "the Oracles of God" (Rom. 3 : 2), 
"the Scriptures" (Mat. 21 : 42), "the holy Scriptures" (Rom. 1 : 2 ; 2 Tim. 
3 : 15). That they Avere familiar to writers of the New Testament is shown 
by frequent references to incidents which they record. See, for example, 
Heb. 11 : 30-38. 

The book of Joshua bears evidence on its pages of having been com- 
mitted to writing by an eje -witness and actor in the scenes narrated, or 
compiled from contemporaneous documents by a later hand. In either 
case, its historical fidelity is fully assured. The natural supposition is, that 
the one whose name it bears was responsible, either personally or by those 
who acted by his direction and authority, for the record of his words and 
acts. The book consists of three main divisions : first, the conquest of the 
country ; second, partition of it among the several tribes ; third, the fare- 
well words of Joshua. In all these he himself was foremost ; every move- 
ment was made under his leadership and by his authority. Of preeminent 

* " The authority of a writing, claimed to be Divine, does not in any case rest on the par- 
ticular writer or human instrumentality, but on the Divine attestation given to it ; and this 
attestation can be given, as in many cases it has been, to writings which have come to us 
anonymously, and of which the particular writer can not be detei'mined with certainty." In- 
troduction to the writer's revised version of Genesis, § 2, foot-note. 



Xviii INTEODUCTION. 



importance among them was the distribution to the different tribes of their 
several shares in the conquered territory. On this depended the peaceful 
and unmolested occupation by each, of the portion thus guaranteed to it 
for all futui'e time. Inseparably interwoven with it was the whole subse- 
quent pohtical as well as religious life and history of the Jewish people. We 
have the testimony of the eminent geographer, Carl Ritter, that the descrip- 
tions of these boundaries, on which so much depended, are found to be 
accurate in the most minute particulars. See Dr. Hackett's addition to the 
article Joshua, Book of, in Smith's Dictionary of the Bible. 

The occasional addition of the words, "unto this day," indicates an 
interval of time between the occurrence narrated and the record of it, but 
not necessarily a long one. For example, it is said of Rahab (ch. G : 25), 
"She dwells in Israel unto this day." A considerable lapse of time may 
be intended in 4 : 9 and 7 : 2G ; as also in 8 : 28, 29 ; 9 : 27 ; 10 : 27 ; 14: 14 ; 
15 : G3. But such incidental explanations, though of a later date, do not 
affect the character of the narrative ; nor does the use of a later name of a 
place, as in 14 : 14, 15, or the explanation of an earlier one, as in 15 : 8. 

There is no discrepancy, as has been alleged, between what is said of 
heathen nations yet unsubdued in ch. 23 : 4, 7, and 12, and the statements 
in chs. 21 : 43-45, and 11 : IG, 17, 23. On the contrary, it is clearly shown 
by the records of the book, that God had fulfilled on his part all his i^rom- 
ises, reiterated in Josh. 1 : 2-G. He had not failed his people, Avhen obedi- 
ent to him, in their conflicts with their enemies. None had been able to 
stand before them. The country had been overrun.* He had given them 
the whole land ; and for the time they dwelt in it unmolested, for "the fear 
of them and the dread of them " had fallen on all their enemies, who dared 
not molest them while Joshua lived. The failure on their part, to carry 
into effect what was required of them and was necessary to their full suc- 
cess, is one of many illustrations of the relation of human action to the 
declared purpose of God. The promised gift of the whole land, deferred 
for the time and fulfilled under Solomon's reign (1 Kings 4 : 21, and the 
writer's note), was again and finally forfeited through their unbelief and 
disobedience. 

Assuming the year 1500 (or 1490) before Christ to be nearly the date 
of the Exodus, the passage of the Jordan forty years later would be about 

♦ ''There ia no doubt that Joshua, during the first years of tho entrance into Canaan, sub- 
dued the country on every side, and received the submission of all the Canaanitca whose lives 
were spared. It is very possible that in tho first terror of surprise tho Philistines, and even 
the men of Sidon and the rest of the Phccnicians, may havo paid homage." — Ewald, History 
of Israel, Vol. II., p. 258. 



INTRODUCTION. XIX 



1460 (or 1450) before Christ. The war of subjugation is estimated to have 
continued from five to seven years. The transactions recorded in the book, 
as nearly as can be ascertained from the few imperfect data, are supposed 
by some to cover a period of about twenty-five to thirty years. Another 
estimate limits it to seventeen, and still another to thirteen years.* The 
first estimate is probably nearest the truth. 

The theories of the book, founded on arbitrary dissection of Elohistic 
and Jehovistic documents (see the writer's Introduction to his revised ver- 
sion of Genesis, § 3, 2d and 4th paragraphs), may be found in Smith's 
Dictionary of the Bible, article Pentateuch, p. 2410 and ff. (Am. ed. ) and 
in Lange's Bible-work, Introduction to Joshua, § 2. These theories are 
well characterized by Dr. Bliss in his note, pp. 13, 14. He adds (p. 14) 
with just severity : " That one should gravely spht a verse in numerous 
passages, so as to refer the various fragments to their respective authors, 
and should be obliged to do it to save his theory, is to most minds slaugh- 
tering the theory at its birtL" 

§4. 

Book of the Judges. 

We learn from the book of Joshua (ch. 23 : 4, 7, 12), that at his death 
the subjugation of the land was not fully effected. In v. 12 he speaks of 
"the remnant of these nations, these that remain among you" ; with the 
warning in v. 7, "that je come not among these nations, these that remain 
among you.'* These he had already distributed by lot ; for in v. 4 he says : 
" See, I have divided to you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inher- 
itance for your tribes." They were to go on, therefore, and complete the 
subjugation of them, with the assurance that " Jehovah your God, he will 
thrust them out from before you, and drive them from your presence, and 
ye shall possess their land." (Y. 5.) 

At this point the book of Judges takes up the thread of narrative. It 
naturally begins with a brief summary of what might be necessary to make 
the connection ; the summary ending at ch. 2 : 8-10 with the death and 
burial of Joshua, and introducing the main narrative with the significant 
words, " and all that generation were gathered to their fathers, and there 
arose another generation after them which knew not Jehovah, nor yet the 

* See the computations from existing data, in Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, article 
CHnoNOLOGY, III., C. ; Speaker's Commentary, p. 7 ; and Lange's Bible-work, Joshua, p. 19. 



XX INTRODUCTION. 



works "wliich he had wrought for Israel." This is the key-note to all that 
follows.* 

The book consists of three main divisions. First, chs. 1 — 2 : 10, intro- 
ductory summary. — Second, chs. 2 : 11 — IG, varying fortunes of the several 
tribes under the jurisdiction of the Judges. — Third, chs. 17 — 21, an appen- 
dix, relating two remarkable occurrences of that period ; the introduction 
of image- worship under Jehovah's name, and the unnatural and destructive 
conflict with the tribe of Benjamin. 

The book is irregular in its structure. It is not a consecutive narration 
of events, in their order and mutual relations. It is rather a series of lead- 
ing occurrences of the time, characteristic of that unsettled and turbulent 
period. It bears throughout the stamp of genuine and authentic history. 
It was evidently drawn from contemporaneous records of the events nar- 
rated, and is mainly composed of them. They have the glow and animation, 
and the minuteness of detail, that mark an actor in the scenes described, 
or an interested and dihgent observer. The compiler selected from them 
those which were most adapted to the purpose of these books, to show 
God's truthfulness and fidehty to his promises, his forbearance, and his 
readiness to forgive and restore the repentant. 

The want of union among the tribes for mutual defense, and their 
animosities among themselves, are attributed to the want of a common 
ruler, with power to unite all, to compel obedience, and to suppress disor- 
ders. The statement several times repeated, "In those days there was no 
king in Israel" (chs. 17 : 6 ; 18 : 1 ; 19 : 1), with the addition in ch. 21 : 25, 
•' every man did that which was right in his own eyes", showed the neces- 
sity of such a ruler. This necessity led to the choice of a king by Samuel, 
in obedience to the command of Moses in Deut. 17 : 15. The statement 
also shows that the date of the compilation was near that time. See the 
full view of the subject in Lange's Introduction to the book, § 2.f 

§5. 
The Book of Ruth. 

In this beautiful pastoral we have a domestic history, belonging to the 
age of the Judges, and giving us occasional glimpses of the peculiar man- 
ners and customs of the time and place. At what date in the history of 

♦ There seems to be no sufficient ground for the assumption, that chs. 1-2 : 5 and tlie con- 
chiding chapters of Joshua belong to one and the same book, as claimed in the Speaker's 
Commentary, p. IIG, and note A, p. 123. 

t The writer iu the Speaker's C^omnientary claims a much later date. But he bases it on 
his own doubtful uuderstanding of the words, " captivity of the land" (ch. 18 : 30), which are 
better explained by others. 



INTEODUCTION. XXI 



the Judges the incidents of the story occurred, and in what district of the 
country, we are not told and there is no clue to either. 

It was at a time when there was peace with Moab ; for there the exiled 
family sought refuge from the famine in their own land. It was also a time 
of peaceful j)rosperity in their home. When Naomi returned, after ten 
years' absence, she found the people engaged in rural occupations. A kins- 
man of her deceased husband, a man of princely wealth, was gathering in 
his harvests, and enjoying undisturbed the fruits of his husbandry. 

Some of the usages described here were of very ancient date. The 
levirate marriage, for example, ch. 4 : 5-8, was in use long before the time 
of Moses, who only regulated its observance, and in some degree mitigated 
its hardships. See Genesis 38 : 8, and the writer's note on the passage. 
Compare Mat. 22 : 24 ; Mark 12:19; and Luke 20 : 28. 

This charming eastern pastoral vindicates its claim to a place in the 
Canon of Scripture, by its simple and lovely pictures of the family relation, 
and of domestic and social life. Nowhere else in the Old Testament are 
the tender ties of kindred, of the maternal and filial relations, so exquisitely 
portrayed. Where else shall we find such truth and sincerity of unselfish 
maternal love, such purity and fervor of filial devotion ? 

Ruth the Moabitess, trained from childhood in heathen ideas and habits, 
was drawn by the example and teachings of Naomi to a behef and trust in 
the true God. When tenderly besought to return to the shelter of the 
maternal home, the ardor of her faith and love broke forth in the passionate 
appeal, "Entreat me not to leave thee ; thy people shall be my people, and 
thy God my God." Well did she merit the beautiful and primitive bene- 
diction of Boaz : " Jehovah recompense thy work ; and a full reward be 
given thee of Jehovah God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to 
trust." 

Her name appears among the ancestors of our Lord, in the closing 
verses. The quotation in the genealogy by Matthew (ch. 1 : 4-6), is a 
recognition of the book as belonging to the Hebrew Scriptures ; for only 
here is the record of David's descent from Euth. The Divine purpose of 
salvation for all the races of men, as is well said by Dr. Hackett,* "was sig- 
nificantly foretokened in the Savior's lineage, derived from gentile ancestors 
as well as Jewish." 

The incidents of the story belong to the age of the Judges. According 
to the testimony of Jerome, it originally followed that book in the Jewish 
canon, as it does in the Septuagint Greek version and in the Latin Vulgate. 



* Article Ruth, Book of, Smith's Bible Dictionary (Am., ed.). 



XXll INTRODUCTION. 



In our Hebrew Bibles it is reckoned one of the Megilloth (Canticles, Ruth, 
Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther), commonly printed among the Hagi- 
ographa at the end of the Bible. The second edition of the Bomberg 
Hebrew Bible printed in 1521, now lying before me, has the Megilloth next 
after the Pentateuch. 

At what time the narrative was committed to writing is uncertain. The 
appended genealogy decides nothing. See the note at the end of the book. 



§6. 
The Books of Samuel. 

The history of the nation is here resumed from the end of the sixteenth 
chapter of the book of the Judges. It carries forward the history of the 
people under theocratic rule, and under the change to a monarchical gov- 
ernment. See the closing paragraph of § 4. 

The contents of these books may be summarily grouped under three 
divisions. First, restoration by Samuel of the theocratic rule from its de- 
pressed condition under former judges, and the founding of the IsraeUtish 
kingdom, 1 Sam. chs. 1 — 7. Second, history of Saul and his kingdom, 
1 Sam. chs. 8 — 31. Third, history of the kingdom under the government 
of David, 2 Sam. chs. 2—25. 

That these books were a part of the original Canon of Scripture has 
never been questioned. They are authentic history, drawn from original 
and contemporaneous records. Such records are frequently mentioned by 
name. Among them are '' the book of Samuel the seer ", *' the book of 
Nathan the prophet", "the book of Gad the seer", mentioned in 1 Chron. 
29 : 20, and 2 Chron. 9 : 29 ; "the Chronicles of king David", mentioned 
in 1 Chron. 27 : 24 ; "the book of Shemaiah the prophet", "of Iddo the 
seer concerning genealogies", mentioned in 2 Chron. 12 : 15. To these 
were added two special officers of the king ; namely, the recorder (2 Sam. 
8 : 16), the king's annalist, whose business it was to record the events of 
his reign, and the king's scribe (2 Sam. 8 : 17 ; 2 Kings 12 : 10), the royal 
secretary, to write the king's commands and edicts, and do other services 
of the pen as the second reference shows. 

From these numerous original sources the narrative was compiled in its 
present form. There are intimations of a later date than that of the 
occurrences narrated. It is said in 1 Sam. G : 18, that " the great stone 
whereon they set down the ark . . . is a witness unto this day." The 



INTKODUCTION. XXIU 



same expression occurs elsewhere, as in chs. 5:5; 30 : 25. From the lan- 
guage in ch. 27 : 6, " has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day," it 
may be inferred that the history was compiled after the division of the 
kingdom at the end of Solomon's reign. 

It was the object of the historian to trace the course of events, remark- 
able and instructive in themselves, which placed on the throne the most 
illustrious of Israel's kings. Hence much was passed over, as not essential 
to this purpose. Of the earlier years of Saul's reign no note is made 
(except his one exploit, 1 Sam. 11 : 4-11), till from a young man (ch. 9 : 2) 
he had become mature in years, with a son already grown to manhood 
(ch. 13 : 2, 3). The fortunes of the kingdom meanwhile had greatly 
changed, as may be seen by comparing ch. 11 : 8 with 13 : 2, 19-22. 
There is a chasm in the narrative, which after an interval of some years is 
resumed in the thirteenth chapter. 

Much difficulty has been found in attempting to reconcile the statements 
in chs. 11 : 14 ff. and 13 : 8 compared with 10 : 8, and taken in connection 
with chs. 8 and 11 : 14. The full statement of the case is given in Lange's 
Bible-work, pp. 11 and 12. 

The solution is to be sought in the fact, elsewhere observable, that 
characteristic incidents are not always set down in the natural order of 
occurrence. Another difficulty lies in the extreme brevity of the narrative, 
neglecting the needful connecting links.* 

The translation of ch. 13 : 1, 2 follows what is regarded as the true 
reading of the Hebrew text. 

My theory of this difficult passage is as follows. The period of Saul's 
entire reign is meant in the first verse, including its incipient stage over 
his own little tribe of Benjamin. His reign "over Israel" (aU Israel) is 
the subject of the second verse. After two years he formed a regular 
standing army of disciphned troops, in place of the rude untrained mass 



* Such a case occurs in the eighth chapter of Joshua. It is claimed that there is a contra- 
diction between the two statements in vv. 3, 4, and that in v. 12. But the explanation given 
by Masius, and by Rosenmiiller, doubtless states the case truly. The 30,000 were the men 
sent away by night (v. 3) ; and the men placed in ambush were the 5,000 mentioned in v. 12. 
That there should be an ambuscade behind the city was commanded them from the first ; and 
they were not to go far from the city, but all were to be ready for any duty (v. 4). 

The difficulty lies in the lack of details in describing a complicated military manoeuvre, the 
principal feature repeated as that on which all depended. According to v. 11 the main army 
( " all the people *') were massed on the high ground north of the city, with a deep chasm inter- 
vening. Toward the south-west, according to Dr. Robinson, there are other small ravines, 
" in which the ambuscade might easily have been concealed." Biblical Researches in Pales- 
tine. Vol. II., p. 313. 



Xxiv INTRODUCTION. 



occasionally called out in an emergency. My reasons are the following :— 
After Saul's anointing there was an interval, how long is not said, of con- 
temptuous distrust and disloyalty, cli. 10 : 27. At this stage there were 
not even the externals of royalty ; for Saul was following the oxen from the 
field, when tidings were brought him of the attack on Jabesh-gilead, ch. 
11 : 4, 5. After his rescue of Jabesh-gilead, and apparently as the result 
of the confidence thus inspired, the kingdom was renewed, ch. 11 : 14, 15. 
At the call of Samuel, "all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made 
Saul king before Jehovah." All the people made him king. He thus be- 
came king over all Israel ; and there is a significance in the wording of the 
first clause of ch. 13 : 2, " Saul had reigned two years over Israel," which 
does not otherwise appear. 

If I have not cleared up the difficulty, I have failed in what many have 
attempted and no one has succeeded. 

The second book of Samuel is the history of David's long and prosper- 
ous reign. The political condition of the country, at its commencement, 
may be inferred from the closing paragraphs of the preceding book. Under 
his administration it soon regained its poHtical independence, and many of 
the neighboring states became tributary. Moreover, he made ample pro- 
vision for the religious and moral elevation of the people. From the lowest 
stage of rudeness and barbarism they were raised to culture and refinement. 
The ordinances of Moses for the pubhc services of religion were now, and 
for the first tune, fully carried into effect. To the inspiration of his genius, 
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and to the influence of his example 
more than to that of any other, we owe that treasury of Divine song, the 
Book of Psalms. So attractive became the services of the sanctuar}^ and 
so widely dififused was the knowledge of the Divine law, that the people 
were weaned from idolatry, and not a trace of it appears in the history of 
his reign. 



§7. 

The Books of Kings. 

That these books were a part of the original Canon of Scripture has 
never been questioned. As was said of the Books of Samuel, they are 
authentic history, drawn from the original and contemporaneous records 
refen-ed to in the third paragraph of § 6. To these are to be added, " the 
book of the acts of Solomon," mentioned in 1 Kings 11 : 41 ; *' the book 



INTEODUCTION. XXV 



of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel," mentioned in 1 Kings 14 : 19 ; 
" the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah," mentioned in 1 Kings 
14 : 29. 

From these original records the compiler has drawn the materials of a 
consecutive and well-digested narrative. The arrangment is chronological ; 
at the same time exhibiting the mutual relations of simultaneous events, 
wherever such occur. 

The prophets were accustomed to record occurrences of general national 
concern, as well as those bearing directly on the religious interests of the 
people. They are sometimes more full than in the strictly historical books. 
Compare the references in the notes on 2 Kings chs. 18 — 21, and on ch. 
25 : 1-26. 

The composition of these books, in their present form, could not be 
earlier than B. C. 561, the date of the latest occurrence recorded in them, 
2 Kings 25 : 27-30. They are composed in great part of the original 
records ; but by whom is not known with certainty. According to Jewish 
tradition, the prophet Jeremiah was the author. This is confirmed by many 
internal evidences, which are fully stated in Smith's Bible Dictionary, article 
Kings, first and second books of. III. Bahr's objections, Lange's Bible- 
work, Introduction § 1, I think are obviated in the above article. See also 
the Speaker's Commentary, Introduction § 4. 

The leading object of all these historical books is kept steadily in view. 
The religious aspects of the history are never lost sight of. Whatever tends 
to the advancement of the true rehgion, to establish and perpetuate the 
knowledge and worship of the true God, is made matter of permanent 
record, as well as all that is of a contrary tendency. The great conflict of 
the ages, between the one truo religion and all false ones, between the 
recognition of the One God, the Self-existent and Eternal, and countless gods 
of human devising, is here brought to the direct issue, " choose ye whom 3'e 
will serve." Under no circumstances more favorable to a fair decision could 
this alternative be offered. Its failure showed clearly the ineflicacy of law, 
under the most favoring conditions, to restrain or properly direct the evil 
tendencies of man's nature ; and it points forward to the ultimate end and 
purpose of all Eevelation, the coming of the great Deliverer. See the final 
remarks at the end of second Kings. 



THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 

^ And it came to pass, after the death of Moses the servant 
of Jehovah, that Jehovah spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, 

2 Moses' minister, saying : Moses my servant is dead. And now 
arise, pass over this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto 
the land which I give to them, to the children of Israel. 

^ Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon have 

* I given to you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness 
and this Lebanon, and unto the great river, the river 
Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great 

^ sea at the going down of the sun, shall be your border. ^NTo 
man shall be able to stand before thee all the days of thy 
hfe. As I was with Moses, so will I be with thee. I will 

^ not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of good cour- 
age. For thou shalt cause this people to possess the land, 

■^ which I have sworn to their fathers to give them. Only be 
thou strong and very courageous ; take heed that thou 
mayest do according to all the law, which Moses my ser- 
vant commanded thee. Turn not from it right or left, that 

^ thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest This book 
of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth ; and thou shalt 
meditate thereon day and night, that thou mayest take heed 
to do according to all that is written therein j for then thou 
shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have 

^ good success. Have not I commanded thee ? Be strong and 
of good courage ; be not afraid, nor be thou faint-hearted ; 
for Jehovah thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. 

^^ Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, say- 

^^ ing : Pass through the midst of the camp,, and command the 
people, saying : Prepare provision for you ; for within three 

Chs. L-xiJL Conquest of Canaan. 



Chap. n. JOSHUA. 

days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go m to possess the 
land, which Jehovah your God gives you to possess it. 

^2 And to the Reubenites, and to the Gradites, and to the half 

1^ tribe of Maiiasseh, spoke Joshua, saying : Remember the 
word which Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded you, 
saying : Jehovah your God gives you rest, and has given to 

^* you this land. Your wives, your httle ones, and your herds 
shall remain in the land which Moses gave you beyond the 
Jordan. But ye shall pass over armed before your brethren, 

^^ all the strong men of war, and help them ; until Jehovah 
shall give rest to your brethren, as to you, and they also shall 
possess the land which Jehovah your God gives to them. 
And ye shall return to the land of your possession, and shall 
possess it, which Moses Jehovah's servant gave you beyond 
the Jordan toward the sunrising. 

^^ And they answered Joshua, saying: All that thou hast 
commanded us we will do, and whithersoever thou shalt send 

^^ us, we will go. As in all things we hearkened to Moses, so 
will we hearken to thee. Only let Jehovah thy God be with 

^^ thee, as he was with Moses. Whosoever shall rebel against 
thy commandment, and will not hearken to thy words in all 
that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death. Only 
be strong and of good courage. 

1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent from Shittim two men to 
spy secretly, saying : Go view the land, and Jericho. And 
they went ; and they came into the house of a harlot, and her 

2 name was Rahab ; and they lodged there. And it was told 
the king of Jericho, saying : Behold, men came in hither to- 

3 night of the children of Israel to search out the land. And 
the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying : Bring forth the 
men that are come to thee, who entered into thy house ; for 

^ they are come to search out all the land. And the woman 
took the two men, and hid them ; and she said : Yea, the 

W. 14, 15. Beyond the Jordan,— the other side of it,— may mean eitlier Bide ; namely, the 
west as in Moses' petition, Deut. 3 : 25, or the east as in Judg. 5 : 17 ; in both these cases mean- 
ing the side opposite to the speaker. But it may mean the side occupied by the speaker, as 
in Josh. 1 : 14, 15. (The vnriter's note on Is. 9:1.) 

2 



JOSHUA. Chap. n. 



^ men came to me, and I knew not whence they were. And 
the gate was about to be shut when it was dark, and the men 
went out. Whither the men went, I know not. Pursue after 

6 them quickly ; for ye will overtake them. Now she had 
brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them in 
the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. 

"^ And the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan 
by the fords. And when those who pursued after them were 
gone out, they shut the gate. 

^ And they had not yet lain down ; and she came up to them 

^ upon the roof. And she said to the men : I know that Jeho- 
vah has given you the land, and that the dread of you is 
fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint 

^^ because of you. For we have heard how Jehovah dried up 
the waters of the Red sea before you, when ye came out of 
Egypt ; and what ye did to the two kings of the Amorites, 
that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom ye 

11 utterly destroyed. And when we heard it, our hearts did 
melt, and there remained no more spirit in any man, because 
of you ; for Jehovah your God, he is God in the heavens 

12 above, and on the earth beneath. And now, I pray you, 
swear to me by Jehovah, since I have dealt kindly with you, 
that ye will also deal kindly with my father's house, and give 

1^ me a token of truth ; and save alive my father, and my 

mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they 
1* have, and deliver our souls from death. And the men said 

to her : Our life for yours, if ye betray not this our business. 

And it shall be, when Jehovah gives us the land,, that we 
1^ will deal kindly and truly with thee. And she let them 

down by a cord through the window. For her house was in 
1^ a recess on the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. And 

she said to them : Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers 

meet you. And hide yourselves there three days, until the 
1"^ pursuers return ; and afterward may ye go your way. And 

the men said to her : We are free from this thine oath which 
1® thou hast made us swear. Behold, when we come into the 

land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window 

3 



Chap. m. JOSHUA. 



by which thou didst let us down ; and thy father, an.d thy 
mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, thou 
^^ shalt gather to thee into the house. And it shall be, that who- 
soever shall go forth out of the doors of thy house into the 
street, his blood be upon his head, and we guiltless. And 
whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood be on 

20 our head, if any hand shall be upon him. And if thou be- 
tray this our business, then we are free from thine oath which 

21 thou hast made us swear. And she said : According to your 
words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed. 

22 And she bound the scarlet line in the window. And they 
went, and came to the mountain, and abode there three days, 
until the pursuers returned. And the pursuers sought in all 
the way, but found them not. 

23 And the two men returned, and came down from the 
mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of 

2* Nun, and told him all that befell them. And they said to 
Joshua : Jehovah has given the whole land into our hands ; 
yea, and all the inhabitants of the land do faint because of 
us. 

1 And Joshua rose early in the morning ; and they removed 
from Shittim, and came to the Jordan, he and all the children 

2 of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. And it 
came to pass after three days, that the officers passed through 

3 the midst of the camp ; and they commanded the people, say- 
ing : When ye see the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your 
God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then je shall re- 

* move from your place, and go after it. Yet there shall be a 
space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by 
measure. Come not near to it, that ye may know the way 
by which ye must go ; for ye have not passed this way here- 

^ tofore. And Joshua said to the people : Sanctify yourselves ; 

^ for to morrow Jehovah will do wonders among you. And 
Joshua spoke to the priests, saying : Take up the ark of the 
covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took 
up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people. 

4 



JOSHUA. Chap. iv. 



^ And Jehovah said to Joshua : This day will I begin to 
magnify thee in the sight of all Israel ; that they may know 

^ that as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. And thou 
shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, 
saying : When ye are come to the brink of the water of the 
Jordan, ye shall stand still in the Jordan. 

* And Joshua said to the children of Israel : Come hither, 

10 and hear the words of Jehovah your God. And Joshua 
said : Hereby shall ye know that a living God is among you, 
and that he will certainly drive out from before you the Ca- 
naanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, 
and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, "and the Jebusites. 

11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth 

12 passes over before you in the Jordan. And now take for 
you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every 

1^ tribe a man. And it shall be, as soon as the soles of the feet 
of the priests that bear the ark of Jehovah, the Lord of all 
the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the 
waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters coming 
down from above, and they shah stand in one heap. 

1^ And it came to pass, when the people removed from their 
tents, to pass over the Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of 

1^ the covenant before the people ; and as they that bore the ark 
were come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing 
the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for the Jordan 

1^ is full over all its banks all the time of harvest,) that the 
waters coming down from above stood still ; they rose up in 
one heap very far away by Adam, the city that is beside 
Zaretan ; and those coming down toward the sea of the plain, 
the salt sea, were wholly cut off. And the people passed 

^■^ over right against Jericho. And the priests bearing the ark 
of the covenant of Jehovah stood firm on dry ground in the 
midst of the Jordan. And all Israel passed over on dry 
ground, until all the people had quite passed over the Jordan. 

1 And it came to pass, when all the people had quite passed 

2 over the Jordan, that Jehovah spoke to Joshua, saying : Take 

V. 16. The plain. See the description in the writer's notes on Genesis, p. 79. 

6 



Chap. iv. JOSHUA. 



for you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a 

^ man. And command ye them, saying : Take for you hence 
out of the midst of the Jordan, out of the place where the 
priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and bring them over 
with you, and lay them down in the lodging place, where ye 

* shall lodge this night. And Joshua called the twelve men, 
whom he had appointed of the children of Israel, out of every 

^ tribe a man. And Joshua said to them : Pass over before the 
ark of Jehovah your God into the midst of the Jordan, and 
take up each one a stone upon his shoulder, according to the 

^ number of the tribes of the children of Israel. That this may 
be a sign among you. When your children shall ask in time' to 

^ come, saying : What mean ye by these stones ? Then shall 
ye say to them, that the waters of the Jordan were cut off 
before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah ; when it passed 
through the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. 
And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of 

® Israel for ever. And the children of Israel did so as Joshua 
commanded. And they took up twelve stones out of the 
midst of the Jordan, as Jehovah spoke to Joshua, according 
to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and 
brought them over with them to the place where they lodged, 

9 and laid them down there. And Joshua set up twelve stones 
in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the 
priests bearing the ark of the covenant stood ; and they are 
there unto this day. 

^^ And the priests bearing the ark stood in the midst of the 
Jordan, until every thing was finished that Jehovah com- 
manded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that 
Moses commanded Joshua ; and the people hasted and passed 

^ over. And it came to pass, when all the people had quite 
passed over, that the ark of Jehovah passed over, and the 

^ priests before the people. And the children of Reuben, and 
the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, passed 
over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spoke to 

^^ them. About forty thousand prepared for war passed over 
before Jehovah for battle, to the plains of Jericho. 

6 



JOSHUA. Ghap. v. 



1^ On that day Jehovah magnified Joshua in the sight of all 
Israel ; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the 
^^ days of his life. And Jehovah spoke to Joshua, saying : 
1^ Command the priests bearing the ark of the testimony, that 
^^ they come up out of the Jordan. And Joshua commanded 
^^ the priests, saying : Come up out of the Jordan. And it 
came to pass, when the priests bearing the ark of the cove- 
nant of Jehovah were come up out of the midst of the Jor- 
dan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up to the 
dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their 
place, and flowed over all its banks, as before. 
^^ And the people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth 
of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, on the eastern 
2^ border of Jericho. And those twelve stones, which the}^ took 
2^ out of the Jordan, did Joshua set up in Grilgal. And he spoke 
to the children of Israel, saying : When your children shall 
ask their fathers in time to come, saying : What mean these 
22 stones? Then ye shall let your children know, saying : Is- 
2^ rael passed over this Jordan on dry land. Because Jehovah 
your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you, until 
ye had passed over ; as Jehovah your God did to the Red sea, 
2* which he dried up before us, until we had gone over ; that 
all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of Jehovah, 
how strong it is ; that ye may fear Jehovah your God for 
ever. 

^ And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, 
which were beyond the Jordan westward, and all the kings 
of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that Jehovah 
had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the children of 
Israel, until we had passed over, that their heart melted, nei- 
ther was their spirit in them any more, before the children of 
Israel. 

2 At that time Jehovah said to Joshua : Make thee sharp 
knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second 

v. 16. Or, ark of the law. 
V. 2. Or, knives of stone. 



CHAP..V. JOSHUA. 



3 time. And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised 

* the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. And this is 
the cause why Joshua did circumcise. All the people that 
came out of Egypt, the males, all the men of war, died in the 

^ wilderness by the way, when they came out of Egypt. For 
all the people that came out were circumcised ; but all the 
people that were born in the wilderness, by the way when 

^ they came forth out of Egypt, were not circumcised. For 
the children of Israel went forty year^ in the wilderness, till 
all the people that were men of war, which came out of 
Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of 
Jehovah ; to whom Jehovah swore that he would not show 
them the land, which Jehovah had sworn to their fathers to 

■^ give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. And their 
children he raised up in their stead. Them Joshua circum- 
cised ; for they were uncircumcised, because they did not 

^ circumcise them by the way. And it came to pass when all 
the people had done circumcising, that they abode in their 

^ places in the camp till they were whole. And Jehovah said 
to Joshua : This day have I rolled off the reproach of Egypt 
from you. And the name of the place is called Gilgal unto 
this day. 

^^ And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal ; and they 
kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at 

1^ evening in the plains of Jericho. And they ate of the pro- 
duce of the land, on the morrow after the passover, unleav- 
ened cakes, and parched grain, on that very day. 

^2 And the manna ceased from the morrow after they had 
eaten of the produce of the land ; nor had the children of 
Israel manna any more, and they ate of the fruit of the land 
of Canaan that year. 

^^ And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho, that he 
lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there stood a man 
over against him with his sword drawn in his hand. And 
Joshua went to him, and said to him : Art thou for us, or for 

V. 4. Wh^-n ihey came oid of Egypt ; extending to their entrance into Canaan. 
V. 9. Gilgal ; a rolling away. 

8 



JOSHUA. Chap. vi. 



1* our adversaries ? And he said, N^ay ; for as prince of Jeho- 
vah's host am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to 
the earth and worshipped, and said to him : What says my 

15 lord to his servant ? And the prince of Jehovah's host said 
to Joshua : Loose thy shoe from off thy foot ; for the place 
whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. 

* (Now Jericho shutting [the gates] and fast shut up against 
the children of Israel, none went out, and none came in.) 

* And Jehovah said to Joshua : See, I have given into thy 
hand Jericho, and her king, and the strong men of war. 

^ And ye shall encompass the city, all the men of war, round 

* about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven 
priests shall bear before the ark seven jubilee trumpets ] and 
the seventh day ye shall encompass the city seven times, and 

5 the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come 
to pass, that when they make a long blast with the jubilee 
horn, when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people 
shall shout with a great shout ; and the wall of the city shall 
fall down flat, and the people shall go up every man straight 
before him. 

^ And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said to 
them : Take up the ark of the covenant ; and let seven 
priests bear seven trumpets of jubilee horns before the ark 

^ of Jehovah. And they said to the people : Pass on, and en- 
compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before 
the ark of Jehovah. 

^ And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken to the 
people, that the seven priests bearing the seven jubilee 
trumpets passed on before Jehovah, and blew with the 
trumpets ; and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah followed 

^ them. And the armed men went before the priests that blew 
with the trumpets, and the rearward went after the ark, con- 

1^ tinually blowing with the trumpets. And Joshua had com- 
manded the people, saying : Ye shall not shout, nor make 
your voice heard, nor shall any word proceed out of your 

V. 4. Jubilee trumpet ; so called from its proclaiming the year of jubilee (Lev. 25 : 9, 10.) 
• Or, alarm trumpet. 

9 



Chap. vi. JOSHUA. 



mouth, until the day I bid you shout ; then shall ye shout. 

1^ So the ark of Jehovah encompassed the city round about it 
once ; and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp. 

12 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests 

1^ took up the ark of Jehovah. And the seven priests bearing 
the seven jubilee trumpets before the ark of Jehovah went 
on blowing continually with the trumpets, and the armed 
men went before them. The rearward came after the ark of 

1* Jehovah, continually blowing w^th the trumpets. And the 
second day they encompassed the city once, and returned 
into the camp. So did they six days. 

1^ And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose 
early at the dawning of the day, and encompassed the city in 
this manner seven times ; only on that day they encompassed 

1^ the city seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh 
time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said 
to the people, Shout ; for Jehovah has given you the city. 

1"^ And the city shall be accursed, it and all that are therein, to 
Jehovah. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that 
are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers 

1^ that we sent. Only do ye beware of the accursed thing, lest 
ye make accursed and take of the accursed thing, and make 

1^ the camp of Israel accursed, and bring evil upon it. And 
all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are 
consecrated to Jehovah ; they shall come into Jehovah's 

2^ treasury. So the people shouted, and they blew with the 
trumpets. And it came to pass, when the people heard the 
sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great 

v. 17. Aca^rsed. Or, devoted; namely, to Jehovah. For the law respecting a "devoted 
thing," see Lev. 27 : 29, " shall surely be put to death." Hence, in accordance with that law, 
it is here said (v. 21), " they utterly destroyed." 

The applicaiion of this law in all its rigor, here and in the following chapters, was a neces- 
sity. It was inseparable from the Divine plan for perpetuating the knowledge of the true 
God, and all its beneficent influences on the destinies of the race. He had committed this 
trust to a people peculiarly susceptible, and for that reason the better adapted to his purpose ; 
and with what ultimate results to the human race we see around us in every Christian land. 
But this peculiar susceptibility made it the more needful to remove all the contaminating in- 
fluences of idolatry. Nothing short of extermination would do this. Had it been effected by 
a flood as of old, or by earthquakes or volcanic fires, the Divine justice would not have been 
questioned. In employing the agency of his people he impressed on them, and on the genera- 
tions following, the magnitude of the evils they were commanded to extirpate. 

10 



JOSHUA. Chap. vn. 



shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went 
up into the city, every man straight before him ; and they 

21 took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the 
city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and 
sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. 

22 And Joshua had said to the two men that spied out the 
land : Go into the house of the harlot, and bring out thence 
the woman, and all that she has, as ye have sworn to her. 

23 And the young men that were spies came, and brought out 
Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and 
all that she had ; and they brought out all her kindred, and 

2* placed them without the camp of Israel. And they burned 
the city with fire, and all that was therein. Only the silver, 
and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put 

25 into the treasury of the house of Jehovah. And Joshua 
saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's house, and 
all that she had ; and she dwelt in Israel unto this day ; 
because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out 
Jericho. 

26 And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying : Cursed be 
the man before Jehovah, that shall rise up and build this city 
Jericho. With his firstborn he shall lay the foundation there- 
of, and with his youngestborn shall he set up the gates thereof. 

2"^ So Jehovah was with Joshua ; and his fame was in all the 
land. 

^ And the children of Israel committed a trespass in the ac- 
cursed thing. For Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, 
the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed 
thing ; and the anger of Jehovah was kindled against the 
children of Israel. 

2 And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside 
Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and said to them : Go 
up and view the land. And the men went up and viewed 

3 Ai. And they returned to Joshua, and said to him : Let not 

V. 26. With his firstborn ; as the price of his sacrilegious undertaking. With the death of 
his firstborn he should pay the penalty of its beginning, and with that of his youngestborn 
the penalty of its completion. 

11 



Chap. vn. JOSHUA. 



all the people go up. Let about two or three thousand men 

go up and smite Ai. Make not all the people labor thither ; 

* for they are but few. And there went up thither of the 

people about three thousand men ; and they fled before the 

5 men of Ai. And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty 
and six men. And they chased them before the gate to the 
stone-pits, and smote them at the steep descent. Wherefore 
the hearts of the people melted, and became as water. 

6 And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell upon his face to the 
earth before the ark of Jehovah until the evening, he and the 

■^ elders of Israel, and cast dust upon their heads. And Joshua 
said : Alas, Lord Jehovah, wherefore hast thou at all brought 
this people over the Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the 
4-niorites, to destroy us ? Would we had been content, and 

^ dwelt beyond the Jordan ! Beseech thee, Lord, what shall 
I say, after Israel has turned their backs before their enemies ! 

^ And the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will 
hear, and will environ us round, and cut off our name from 
the earth. And what wilt thou do to thy great name ? 

1^ And Jehovah said to Joshua : G-et thee up ; wherefore 

^^ art thou fallen thus, upon thy face ? Israel has sinned : and 
they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded 
them ; and have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also 
stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among 

^'^ their own effects. And the children of Israel could not stand 
before their enemies ; they will turn their backs before their 
enemies, for they are accursed. I will no more be with you, 

^"^ except ye destroy the accursed thing from among you. Stand 
up, sanctify the people, and say : Sanctify yourselves for the 
morrow. For thus says Jehovah God of Israel : An accursed 
thing is in the midst of thee, Israel. Thou canst not stand 
before thine enemies, until ye put away the accursed thing 

1^ from among you. In the morning ye shall be brought ac- 
cording to your tribes. And it shall be, that the tribe which 
Jehovah takes shall come by families ; and the family which 
Jehovah shall take shall come by households ; and the house- 

V. 5. Stone-pUs ; or, Shebarim. Descent ; into the vallcv (8 : 11). 

12 



JOSHUA. Chap. vii. 



1^ hold which Jehovah shall take shall come man by man. And 
it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall 
be burned with fire, he and all that are his, because he has 
transgressed the covenant of Jehovah, and because he has 
wrought folly in Israel. 

1^ And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought 
Israel by their tribes ; and the tribe of Judah was taken. 

1"^ And he brought the family of Judah ; and he took the family 
of the Zarhites ; and he brought the family of the Zarhites man 

1^ by man ; and Zabdi was taken. And he brought his house- 
hold man by man ; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of 
Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 

^^ And Joshua said to Achan : My son, give, I pray thee, 
honor to Jehovah, God of Israel, and make confession to 
him ; and tell me now what thou hast done ; hide it not from 

20 me. And Achan answered Joshua, and said : Truly, I have 
sinned against Jehovah God of Israel, and thus and thus 

21 have I done. I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish 
garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of 
gold of fifty shekels weight, and I coveted them, and took 
them ; and, behold, they are hid in the earth m the midst of 
my tent, and the silver under it. 

22 And Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent ; 
and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. 

23 And they took them from the midst of the tent, and brought 
them to Joshua, and to all the children of Israel, and laid 

?* them out before Jehovah. And Joshua took Achan the son 
of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of 
gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his 
asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that was his, and 
all Israel with him ; and they brought them to the valley of 

25 Achor. And Joshua said : Why hast thou troubled us ? 
Jehovah trouble thee this day ! And all Israel stoned him 
with stones. And they burned them with fire, after they had 

26 stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great 
heap of stones, unto this day. So Jehovah turned from the 

V. 17. Family of Judah ; family used laxlv for tribe. 

13 



Chap. vin. JOSHUA. 



fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place 
was called Yalley of Achor, unto this day. 

^ And Jehovah said to Joshua : Fear not, nor be thou faint- 
hearted. Take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go 
up to Ai. See, I have given into thy liand the king of Ai, 

2 and his people, and his city, and his land. And thou shalt do 
to Ai and her king as thou didst to Jericho and her king ; 
only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take a 
prey for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it. 

^ And Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up to 
Ai. And Joshua chose out thirty thousand men, strong men 

^ of war, and sent them away by night. And he commanded 
them, saying : Behold, ye are to lie in ambush against the 
city, behind the city ; go not very far from the city, and be 

^ 3'e all ready. And I, and all the people that are with me, will 
approach to the city. And it shall be, when they come out 

^ against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them. And 
they will come out after us, till we have drawn them from 
the city. For they will say : They flee before us, as at the 

"^ first ; therefore we will flee before them. And ye shall rise 
up from the ambush, and seize upon the city ; and Jehovah 

^ your God will deliver it into your hand. And it shall be, 
when ye have taken the city, that ye shall set the city on fire. 
According to the commandment of Jehovah shall ye do. See, 
I have commanded you. 

^ And Joshua sent them forth ; and they went to lie in am- 
bush, and abode between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of 

^^ Ai. And Joshua lodged that night among the people. And 
Joshua rose up early in the morning, and mustered the peo- 
ple, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people 

^^ to Ai. And all the people of war that were with him, went 
up, and drew nigh, and came before the city, and encamped 
on the north side of Ai. And the valley was between them 

^2 and Ai. A^^d he took about Hvo thousand men, and set them 
in ambush between Betli-cl and Ai, on the west side of the 



V. 2G. Achor ; meaning, trouble. 

14 



JOSHUA. Chap. vm. 



1^ city. And they set the people, all the host that was on the 
north of the city, and their liers in wait on the west of the 
city. And Joshua went that night into the midst of the 
valley. 

1* And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that the 
men of the city hasted and rose up early, and went out 
against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at the appointed 
place, before the plain. And he knew not that there was an 

^^ ambush against him behind the city. And Joshua and all 
Israel were smitten before them; and fled by the way of the 

1^ wilderness. And all the people that were in Ai were called 
together to pursue after them ; and they pursued after Joshua, 

1^ and were drawn away from the city. And not a man was left 
in Ai or Beth-el, that went not out after Israel ; and they left 
the city open, and pursued after Israel. 

^^ And Jehovah said to Joshua : Stretch out the spear that is 
in thy hand toward Ai ; for I will give it into thy hand. And 
Joshua stretched out the spear that was in his hand toward 

^^ the city. And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, 
and they ran as soon as he stretched out his hand ; and they 
entered into the city, and took it, and hasted and set the 

20 city on fire. And the men of Ai looked behind them, and 
saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city rose up to heaven, 
and they had no strength to flee this way or that way ; and 
the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the 

21 pursuers. And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the am- 
bush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city rose 

22 up, they turned again, and slew the men of Ai. And the 
others issued out of the city against them, so they were in 
the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side. 
And they smote them, so that they left none of them surviv- 

23 ing or escaped. And the king of Ai they took alive, and 
brought him to Joshua. 

2* And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of 
slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness 
wherein they pursued them, and they were all fallen on the 
edge of the sword until they were consumed, that all the Is- 

15 



Chap. vm. JOSHUA. 



raelites returned to Ai, and smote it with the edge of the 

"^^ sword. And all that fell that day, both men and women, 

2<5 were twelve thousand, all the men of Ai. And Joshua drew 

not back his hand, wherewith he stretched out the spear, until 

2^ he had utterly destroyed all the hihabitants of Ai. Only the 

cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took to themselves for 

a prey, according to the word of Jehovah which he com- 

28 manded Joshua. And Joshua burned Ai, and made it a 

'-^^ heap for ever, a desolation unto this day. And the king of 

Ai he hanged on the tree until eventide. And as soon as the 

sun was down, Joshua gave command and they took down 

his carcass from the tree, and cast it at the entermg of the 

gate of the city, and raised thereon a great heap of stones, 

unto this day. 

2^ And Joshua built an altar to Jehovah God of Israel on 

21 mount Ebal ; as Mosos the servant of Jehovah commanded 
the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law 
of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man has 
lifted up any iron ; and they offered thereon burnt offerings 

22 to Jehovah, and sacrificed peace offerings. And he wrote 
there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses which he 
wrote in the presence of the children of Israel. 

22 And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their 
judges, stood on this side and on that side of the ark before 
the priests the Levites, bearing the ark of the covenant of 
Jehovah, as well the stranger as the native-born ; half of 
them over against mount Gerizim, and the half of them over 
against mount Ebal ; as Moses the servant of Jehovah had 
commanded before, that they should bless the people of Is- 

2* rael. And afterward he read all the words of the law, the 
blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in 

2^ the book of th(^ law. There was not a word of all that Moses 
commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congrega- 
tion of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the 
strangers that walked among them. 

V. 34. See Deut. 28 : 1-14, and 15-68. 

16 



JOSHUA. Chap. ix. 



1 And it camo to pass, when all the kings which were on this 
side of the Jordan, on the hills and in the low country, and 
on all the coast of the great sea toward Lebanon, the Hittite, 
and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, 

2 and the Jebusite, heard thereof ; that they gathered them- 
selves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with 
one accord 

^ And the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had 

* done to Jericho and to Ai. They also dealt craftily, and 
went and made as if they journeyed, and took old sacks 
upon their asses, and wine-skins, old, and rent, and patched ; 

^ and old shoes and clouted on their feet, and old garments on 
them ; and all the bread of their provision was dry and 

^ mouldy. And they went to Joshua to the camp at Grilgal, 
and said to him, and to the men of Israel : We are come from 

■^ a far country ; and now make ye a league with us. And the 
men of Israel said to the Hivites : Perhaps ye dwell among 

^ us ; and how shall we make a league with you ? And they 
said to Joshua, we are thy servants. And Joshua said to 

^ them, who are ye ? And from whence come ye ? And they 
said to him : From a very far country thy servants are come, 
for the name of Jehovah thy God. For we have heard the 

1^ fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt ; and all that he 
did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond the 
Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Ba- 

^^ shan, who was at Ashtaroth. And our elders and all the in- 
habitants of our country said to us : Take provision in your 
hand for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, 
we are your servants ; and now make ye a league with us. 

^^ This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses 
on the day we came forth to go to you ; but now, behold, it 

^^ is dry, and it is mouldy. And these wine-skins, which we 
filled, were new ; behold, they are rent. And these our gar- 
ments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very 

^* long journey. And the men took of their provisions, and 

V. 4. Wineskins. See the writer's note on Gen. 21 : 14. 

17 



Chap. ix. JOSHUA. 



^^ asked not counsel at the mouth of Jehovah. And Joshua 
made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let 
them hve ; and the princes of the coiigregation swore to 
them. 

1^ And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had 
made a league with them, that they heard they were their 

^■^ neighbors, and were dwelling among them. And the children 
of Israel journeyed, and came to their cities on the third day. 
Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, 

^^ and Kirjath-jearim. And the children of Israel smote them 
not, because the princes of the congregation had sw^orn to 
them by Jehovah God of Israel. And all the congregation 

^^ murmured against the princes. And all the princes said to 
all the congregation : We have sworn to them by Jehovah 

2^ God of Israel ; and now we ma}'^ not touch them. This we 
will do to them, and let them live, lest wrath be upon us, be- 

2^ cause of the oath w^hich we have sworn to them. And the 
princes said to them : Let them live. And they became hew- 
ers of wood and drawers of water to all the congregation ; as 
the princes had told them. 

22 And Joshua called them ; and he said to them : Wherefore 
have ye beguiled us, saying. We are very far from you, when 

2^ ye are dwelling among us ? And now ye are cursed ; and 
there shall none of you be freed from being a bondman, and 
hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my 

2-^ God. And they answered Joshua, and said : Because it was 
certainly told thy servants, how that Jehovah thy God com- 
manded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to 
destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, we 
were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done 

25 this thing. And now, behold, we are in thy hand ; as is good 

26 and right in thine eyes to do to us, do. And so did he to 
them ; and he delivered them out of the hand of the children 

2"^ of Israel, and they slew them not. And Joshua made them 
that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the con- 
gregation, and for the altar of Jehovah, unto this day, in the 
place which he should choose. 

18 



JOSHUA. Chap. x. 



^ And it came to pass, when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem 
heard that Joshua had taken Ai and destroyed it ; as he did 
to Jericho and her king, he did to Ai and her king ; and that 
the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and 

2 were among them ; that they greatly feared, because Gribeon 
was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it 
was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty. 

^ And Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of 
Hebron, and to Piram king of Jarmuth, and to Japhia king 

* of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying : Come up to 
me, and help me, and we will smite Gibeon ; for it has made 

^ peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel. And five 
kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of 
Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king 
of Eglon, assembled, and went up, they and all their hosts, 
and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it. 

^ And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua to the camp, to 
Gilgal, saying : Slacken not thy hand from thy servants ; come 
up to us quickly, and save us, and help us. For all the kings 
of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered 

^ together against us. And Joshua went up from Gilgal, he 
and all the people of war with him, and all the strong men 
of war. 

^ And Jehovah said to Joshua: Fear them not, for I have 
given them into thy hand ; there shall not a man of them 

^ stand before thee. And Joshua came against them suddenly. 
^^ All the night he went up from Gilgal. And Jehovah dis- 
comfited them before Israel ; and he smote them with a great 
slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goes 
up to Beth-horon, and smote them unto Azekah, and unto 
1^ Makkedah. And it came to pass, as they fled before Israel, 
they were at the descent from Beth-horon. And Jehovah 
cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, 
and they died. More were they who died by hailstones than 
they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword. 
^2 Then spoke Joshua to Jehovah, in the day when Jehovah 

19 



Chap x. JOSHUA. 



delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel ; and 
he said in the sight of Israel : 

Sun, stand thou still on Gibeon, 

And thou moon, in the valley of Aijalon. 

13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, 
Until the people were avenged on their enemies. 

Is it not written in the book of the righteous ? 

14 And the sun stood still in mid-heaven ; 
And hasted not to go down tor a whole day. 
And no day was like that before it or after it, 
That Jehovah hearkened to the voice of a man. 
For Jehovah fought for Israel. 

1^ And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp, 

16 to Gilgal. And those five kings fled, and hid themselves in 

1"^ the cave at Makkedah. And it was told Joshua, saying : The 

1^ five kings are found hid in the cave at Makkedah. And 

Joshua said : Roll great stones to the mouth of the cave, and set 

1'^ men over it to keep them. And do ye stay not ; pursue after 

your enemies, and smite them in the rear ; suffer them not to 

enter into their cities, for Jehovah your God has given them 

20 into your hand. And it came to pass, when Joshua and the 
children of Israel had made an end of smiting them with a 
very great slaughter till they were consumed, and those of 

21 them that escaped had entered into the fenced cities ; that all 
the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in 
peace ; none sharpened his tongue against any of the children 

W. 12-14. These verses contain a quotation from the hook of the righteous, "book of 
Jasher" in the common version ; poetic records of the deeds and words of those who were 
eminent in the annals of the naiion. See 2 Sam. 1 : 18. They are conceived in the boldly 
figurative manner of Oriental poetry ; such as we see in David's description of his victory 
over his enemies, ascribing it to Jehovah's direct interposition by tempest and earthquake. 
(Ps. 18 : 7-15). Nothing liere said exceeds the boldness of the figures there xised ; for exam- 
ple. '• the earth shook and quaked,"— "the foundations of the mountains trembled and were 
Bhaken,"— " the foundations of the world were laid bare." To the Hebrew mind these were 
greater marvels than the arrest of sun and moon, regarded by him as comparatively small, 
revolving round the much larger earth. 

Divested of their bold poetic imagery, the words state a plain matter of fact. In the heat 
and enthusiasm of the conflict, and eager for the defeat of all his enemies, Joshua commands 
Bun and moon to stand still and wait till it be accomplished. The poet describes the effect of 
his words as it appeared to the busy actors in the scene, to whom the stirring and shifting events 
of tlio day made it seem unnaturally prolonged. Virtually it was so ; for it was by the special 
favor of Jehovah, who " fought for Israel," that the day did not end till all was accomplished. 

The words were understood in this poetical and figurative sense by the celebrated Jewish 
scholar Maimonides in the twelfth century ; and it is now regarded by Hebrew scholars as the 
true interpretation of the passage. 

23 



JOSHUA. Chap. x. 



22 of Israel. And Joshua said : Open the mouth of the cave, 
2^ and bring out to me those five kings out of the cave. And 

they did so, and brought out to him those five kings out of 
the cave ; the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the 
king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Egion. 
2* And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings to 
Joshua, that Joshua called all the men of Israel, and he said 
to the leaders of the men of war that went with him : Come 
near, put your feet on the necks of these kings. And they 

25 came near, and put their feet on their necks. And Joshua 
said to them : Fear not nor be faint-hearted, be strong and of 
good courage ; for thus will the Lord do to all your enemies 

26 against whom ye fight. And afterward Joshua smote them, 
and slew them, and hanged them on five trees ; and they 

2"^ were hanging on the trees until the evening. And it came 
to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua 
commanded, and they took them down from the trees, and 
cast them into the cave wherein they hid themselves, and laid 
great stones on the cave's mouth, unto this very day. 

28 And that day Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with 
the edge of the sword ; and the king thereof he destroyed, 
them and all the souls that were therein ; he left none remain- 
ing. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he did to the 

29 king of Jericho. And Joshua passed from Makkedah, and 
all Israel with him, to Libnah, and he fought with Libnah. 

2^ And Jehovah gave it also into the hand of Israel, and the 
king thereof, and he smote it with the edge of the sword, 
and all the souls that were therein ; he left none remaining 
in it. And he did to the king thereof as he did to the king 
of Jericho. 

^1 And Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, 
to Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it ; 

^2 and Jehovah gave Lachish into the hand of Israel. And he 
took it on the second day, and smote it with the edge of the 
sword, and all the souls that were therein, according to all 
that he did to Libnah. 

23 Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish ; and 

21 



Chap. xi. JOSHUA. 



Joshua smote him and his people, until he left him none re- 
maining. 

3^ And from Lachish Joshua passed to Eglon, and all Israel 
with him ; and they encamped against it, and fought against 

3^ it. And they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge 
of the sword ; and all the souls that were therein he utterly 
destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to 

3^ Lachish. And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel 

2'^ with him, to Hebron, and fought against it. And they took 
it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king 
thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were 
therein ; he left none remaining, according to all that he had 
done to Eglon ; and he destroyed it utterly, and all the souls 
that were therein. 

^^ And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir, 

^^ and fought against it. And he took it, and the king thereof, 
and all the cities thereof. And they smote them with the 
edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that 
were therein ; he left none remaining. As he had done to 
Hebron, so he did to Debir and to the king thereof, and as he 
did to Libnah and to her king. 

*^ And Joshua smote all the land, the hill country, and the 
south, and the low country, and the declivities, and all their 
kings ; he left none remaining, and utterly destroyed all that 

*^ had breath, as Jehovah God of Israel commanded. And 
Joshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea even unto G-aza, and 

^2 all the land of Goshen even unto Gibeon. And all these 
kings and their land did Joshua take at one time ; for Jeho- 

^^ vah God of Israel fought for Israel. And Joshua returned, 
and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal. 



1 And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor heard it, 
that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of 

2 Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, and to the kings 
that were on the north in the mountains, and on the plain 
south of Chinneroth, and in the low country, and on the 

^ heights of Dor westward, to the Canaanite on the east and 

22 



JOSHUA. Chap. XI. 



on the west, and the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Periz- 
zite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite at 

^ the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpeh. And they went 
out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as 
the sand that is on the sea shore for multitude, and horses 

^ and chariots very many. And all these kings met together, 
and they came and encamped together at the waters of Me- 
rom, to fight with Israel. 

^ And Jehovah said to Joshua : Be not afraid because of 
them ; for to-morrow about this time will I deliver up all of 
them slain before Israel. Thou shalt hough their horses, and 

'^ burn their chariots with fire. And Joshua, and all the people 
of war with him, came upon them suddenly by the waters of 

^ Merom ; and they fell upon them. And Jehovah gave them 
into the hand of Israel ; and they smote them, and chased 
them unto great Zidon, and unto Misrephoth-maim, and unto 
the valley of Mizpeh eastward ; and they smote them, until 

^ they left them none remaining. And Joshua did to them as 

Jehovah said to him ; he houghed their horses, and burnt 

their chariots with fire. 

^^ And Joshua turned back at that time, and took Hazor, and 

smote the king thereof with the sword ; for Hazor was for- 

11 merly the head of all those kingdoms. And they smote all 
the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly 
destroying them ; there was not any left that had breath ; and 

12 Hazor he burned with fire. And all the cities of those kings, 
and all their kings, did Joshua take. And he smote them 
with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them, as Mo- 

1^ ses the servant of Jehovah commanded. But as for the cities 
that stood on their hill, Israel burned none of them, save 

1^ Hazor only ; that did Joshua burn. And all the spoil of 
these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took as a 
prey for themselves ; but every man they smote with the edge 
of the sword, until they had destroyed them ; nor left they 
any that had breath. 

1^ As Jehovah commanded Moses his servant, so Moses com- 

Y. 15. See Deut. 20 : 16, and 3 : 21. 

23 



Chap. xii. JOSHUA. 



maiided Joshua ; and so did Joshua. He left nothing undone 
^^ of all that Jehovah commanded Moses. And Joshua took 
all that land ; the hills, and all the south country, and all the 
land of Groshen, and the low country, and the plain, and the 
^■^ mountain of Israel, and its lowland ; from the bald moun- 
tain, that goes up to Seir, unto Baal-gad in the valley of 
Lebanon at the foot of mount Hermon. And all their kings 
he took, and smote them, and slew them. 
^^ A long time Joshua made war with all those kings. There 
1^ was not a city that submitted to the children of Israel, save 

20 the Hivites inhabiting Gibeon ; all they took in battle. For 
it was of Jehovah to strengthen their heart, that they should 
come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them 
utterly ; that they might have no favor, but that he might 
destroy them, as Jehovah commanded Moses. 

21 And at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakim 
from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, 
and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the moun- 
tains of Israel. Joshua destroyed them utterly with their 

22 cities. There was none left of the Anakim in the land of the 
children of Israel. They remained only in Graza, in Gath, 

23 and in Ashdod. And Joshua took the whole land, accord- 
ing to all that Jehovah said to Moses ; and Joshua gave it 
for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions, by 
their tribes. And the land rested from war. 

1 And these are the kings of the land, which the children of 
Israel smote, and possessed their land bej^ond the Jordan 
toward the rising of the sun, from the river Arnon unto 

2 mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east. Sihon king 
of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, ruhng from Aroer 

V. 16. The plain ; of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, as in 3 : 36, and elsewhere. 

V. 23. Gave it for an iaherilanne to Israel. See Gen. 13 : 14, 15. '"Lift up now thine eyes 
and look, from the place where thou art, northward, and southward, and eastward, and west- 
ward. For the whole land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever." 
Thi-( promise to Abraham was renewed in a covenant, solemnly confirmed in the most impress- 
ive form known to the ancient world. (Gen. 15 : 9-21.) His seed inherited the promise, and 
with it the title to the land conveyed by it. The land is therefore properly called their inherit- 
ance. 

24 



JOSHUA. Chap. xii. 



which is on the bank of the river Arnon and in the midst of 
the river, and over half Grilead unto the river Jabbok, the 
^ border of the cliildren of Amnion ; and over the plain to the 
sea of Chinneroth on the east, and unto the sea of the plain, 
the salt sea, on the east, the way to Beth-jeshimoth ; and on 

* the south under the declivities of Pisgah ; and the border of 
Og king of Bashan, of the remnant of the giants, who dwelt 

^ at Ashtaroth and at Edrei. And he reigned in mount Her- 

mon, and in Salcah, and in all Bashan, unto the border of the 

Geshurites and the Maachathites, and half Gilead, the border 

^ of Sihon king of Heshbon. Them did Moses the servant of 

Jehovah and the cliildren of Israel smite. And Moses the 

servant of Jehovah gave it for a possession to the Reuben- 

ites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh. 

^ And these are the kings of the land which Joshua and 

the children of Israel smote beyond the Jordan on the west, 

from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon even unto the 

bald mountain that goes up to Seir. And Joshua gave it 

to the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their 

^ divisions ; in the hill country, and in the lowland, and in 

the plain, and in the declivities, and in the wilderness, and in 

the south country ; the Hittites, the Amorites, and the 

Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites : — 

^ The king of Jericho, one 5 the king of Ai, which is beside 

^ Beth-el, one ; the king of Jerusalem, one ; the king of 

^ Hebron, one ; the king of Jarmuth, one ; the king of Lachish, 

2 one ; the king of Eglon, one ; the king of Gezer, one ; 

^ the king of Debir, one ; the king of Geder, one ; the king of 

* Hormah, one ; the king of Arad, one ; the king of Libnah, 
^ one ; the king of AduUam one ; the king of Makkedah, one ; 
^ the king of Beth-el, one ; the king of Tappuah, one ; the 
"^ king of Hepher, one ; the king of Aphek, one ; the 
^ king of Lasharon, one ; the king of Madon, one ; the king 
^ of Hazor, one ; the king of Shimron-meron, one ; the 

2^ king of Achshaph, one ; the king of Taanach, one ; the 
^^ king of Megiddo, one ; the king of Kedesh, one ; the king 
22 of Jokneam on Carmel, one ; the king of Dor, on the height 

25 



Chap. xin. JOSHUA. 



23 of Dor, one ; the king of the nations at Gilgal, one ; the king 
2* of Tirzah, one. All the kings thirty and one. 

^ And Joshua was old, far gone in years. And Jehovah 

said to him : Thou art old, far gone in years, and there yet 
2 remains very much land to be possessed. This is the land 

that yet remains ; all the circuits of the Philistines, and all 
^ Geshuri ; from Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the 

border of Ekron northward, shall be counted to the Canaanite ; 

five lords of the Philistines ; the Gazathites, and the Ash- 

dothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites, 
^ and the Avites ; on the south, all the land of the Canaanites, 

and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, unto Aphek, to the 
^ borders of the Amorites ; and the land of the Giblites, and 

all Lebanon toward the sunrising, from Baal-gad at the foot 
^ of mount Hermon unto the entering into Hamath. All the 

inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon unto Misrephoth- 

maim, all the Sidonians, them will I drive out before the 

children of Israel ; only divide thou it by lot to the Israelites 
"^ for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee. And now 

divide this land for an inheritance unto the nine tribes, and 
^ the half tribe of Manasseh ; with him the Reubenites and the 

Gadites have received their inheritance, which Moses gave 

them beyond the Jordan on the east, even as Moses the 
^ servant of Jehovah gave to them ; from Aroer, that is on the 

bank of the river Anion, and the city that is in the midst of 
^^ the river, and all the plain of Medeba unto Dibon ; and all 

the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in 
1^ Heshbon, unto the border of the children of Ammon ; and 

Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites, 

12 and all mount Hermon, and all Bashan unto Salcah ; all the 
kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in 
Edrei ; he remained of the remnant of the giants ; and 

13 Moses smote them, and drove them out. And the children 
of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites and the Maacha- 

Ch. xiii. 1-6. Portions of the country remaining unsubdued. 
Chs. xiii. 7, — xxii. Partition of the country among the tribes. 

26 



JOSHUA. Chap. xin. 



thites ; and the Gleshurites and the Maachathites dwelt among 

1* the Israehtes, unto this day. Only to the tribe of Levi he 

gave no inheritance ; the sacrifices of Jehovah God of Israel 

are their inheritance, as he said to them. 

1^ And Moses gave to the tribe of the children of Reuben 

^^ according to their families. And their border was from Aroer, 

which is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that 

is in the midst of the river, and all the plain by Medeba ; 

1^ Heshbon, and all her cities that are in the plain ; Dibon, and 

1^ Bamoth-baal, and Beth-baal-meon, and Jahaza, and Kede- 

^^ moth, and Mephaath, and Kirjathaim, and Sibmah, and 

20 Zareth-shahar on the mount of the valley, and Beth-peor, and 

2i the declivities of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth, and all the 

cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the 

Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses smote, him 

and the princes of Midian, Evi, and Bekem, and Zur, and 

22 Hur, and Reba, princes of Sihon, inhabiting the land. And 
Balaam the son of Beor, the soothsayer, the children of 
Israel slew with the sword, among their slain. 

23 And the border of the children of Reuben was the Jordan, 
and what borders it. This was the inheritance of the children 
of Reuben after their families, the cities and their villages. 

2^ And Moses gave to the tribe of Glad, to the children of Gad, 

25 according to their families. And their border was Jazer, and 
all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of 

26 Ammon, unto Aroer which is before Rabbah ; and from 
Heshbon unto Ramath-mizpeh, and Betonim ; and from 

2"^ Mahanaim unto the border of Debir ; and in the valley, 
Beth-aram, and Beth-nimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the 
rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, the Jordan 
and what borders it unto the edge of the sea of Chinnereth 

2^ beyond the Jordan on the east. This is the inheritance of 
the children of Gad after their families, the cities, and their 
villages. 

2^ And Moses gave to the half tribe of Manasseh ; and it 
became [the possession] of the half tribe, the children of 

^^ Manasseh by their families. And their border was from 

27 



Chap. xiv. JOSHUA. 



Mahanaim, all Baslian, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, 
and all the villages of Jair, which are in Bashan, threescore 

^^ cities ; and half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities of 
the kingdom of Og in Bashan, came to the children of Machir 
the son of Manasseh, to the half of the children of Machir by 

22 their families. These are what Moses gave for inheritance 
in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan, by Jericho, on 

2^ the east. And to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inherit- 
ance. Jehovah Grod of Israel, he was their inheritance, as 
he said to them. 

^ And these are what the children of Israel were made to 
inherit in the land of Canaan ; which Eleazar the priest, and 
Joshua the son of Kun, and the heads of the fathers of the 
tribes of the children of Israel, gave for inheritance to them ; 

2 their apportionment by lot, to the nine tribes and the half 

3 tribe, as Jehovah commanded by the hand of Moses. For 
Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and a half 
tribe beyond the Jordan ; and to the Levites he gave no in- 

^ heritance among them. For the children of Joseph were two 
tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And they gave no portion to 
the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in, with their 

^ suburbs for their cattle and for their substance. As Jehovah 
commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they 
divided the land. 

^ And the children of Judah came to Joshua in Grilgal ; and 
Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said to him : Thou 
knowest the thing that Jehovah said to Moses the man of 

■^ Grod concerning me and thee in Kadesh-barnea. Forty years 
old was I when Moses the servant of Jehovah sent me from 
Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land ; and I brought him word 

^ again as it was in my heart. And my brethren that went up 
with me made the heart of the people melt ; but I wholly 

^ followed Jehovah my Grod. And Moses swore on that day, 
saying : Surely the land whereon thy foot has trodden shall 

W. 6-8. Bee Num. 13 : 1-14 : 3, and 14 : 30. 
Y. 9. See Deut. 1 : 36. 

28 



JOSHUA. Chap. xv. 



be thy inlieritance, and thy children's for ever ; for thou hast 

10 wholly followed Jehovah my Grod. And now, behold, 
Jehovah has kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five 
years, since Jehovah spoke this word to Moses, while Israel 
wandered in the wilderness ; and now, lo, I am this day four- 

11 score and five years old. Still am I strong this day as in 
the day that Moses sent me. As my strength was then so 
is my strength now, for war and to go out and to come in. 

12 And now give me this mountain, of which Jehovah spoke in 
that day. For thou heardest in that day that the Anakim 
were there, and great, fenced cities ; if so be Jehovah is with 

1^ me, then I shall drive them out, as Jehovah said. And 
Joshua blessed him ; and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son 

1^ of Jephunneh for an inheritance. Therefore Hebron became 
the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite 
unto this day, because he wholly followed Jehovah God of 

1^ Israel. And the name of Hebron before was city of Arba. 
He was the greatest man among the Anakim. And the land 
had rest from war. 

1 And there was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah 
by their families ; toward the border of Edom the wilderness 

2 of Zin southward, at the extreme south. And their south 
border was from the end of the salt sea, from the tongue that 

^ turns southward. And it went out to the south side of the 
ascent to Acrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and went up on 
the south side of Kadesh-barnea, and passed along to Hezron, 

^ and went up to Adar, and turned toward Karka ; and it 
passed over to Azmon, and went out to the river of Egypt ; 
and the terminations of the border were at the sea ; this 

^ shall be your south border. And the east border was the 
salt sea, unto the end of the Jordan. And the border on 
the northern side was from the tongue of the sea at tl?e 

^ mouth of the Jordan. And the border went up to Beth- 
hoglah, and passed along northwardly to Beth-arabah. And 

V. 12. If so he. See Num. 14 : 8. 
V. 15. (My of Arba ; Kirjath-arba. 

29 



Chap. xv. JOSHUA. 



the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. 

^ And the border went up toward Debh from the valley of 

Achor, and turmng northward toward Gilgal, that is over 

against the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side 

of the river. And the border passed toward the waters of 

En-shemesh, and the terminations thereof were at En-rogel. 

^ And the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom 

unto the south side of the Jebusite ; the same is Jerusalem. 

And the border went up to the top of the mountain that lies 

before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end 

^ of the valley of the giants northward ; and the border 

stretched from the top of the hill to the fountain of the water 

of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of mount Ephron ; 

and the border stretched to Baalah, which is Kirjath-jearim ; 

1^ and the border turned from Baalah westward to mount Seir, 
and passed along to the northern side of mount Jearim, which 
is Chesalon, and went down to Beth-shemesh, and passed on 

^^ to Timnah. And the border went out to the northern side 
of Ekron. And the border stretched to Shicron, and passed 
along to mount Baalah, and went out to Jabneel ; and the 

12 terminations of the border were at the sea. And the west 
border was to the great sea, and what borders it. This is the 
border of the children of Judah round about, according to 
their families. 

1^ And to Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a portion 
among the children of Judah, according to the command of 
Jehovah to Joshua, the city of Arba the father of Anak, 

1* which is Hebron. And Caleb drove thence the three sons 
of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of 

1^ Anak. And he went up thence to the inhabitants of Debir. 
And the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher. 

1^ And Caleb said : He that smites Kirjath-sepher, and takes 

i"* it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife. And 
Othniel, the son of Kenaz the brother of Caleb, took it ; and 

1^ he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife. And it came to 
pass, when' she had come, that she moved him to ask of her 



V. 8. VaUey of the giants ; valley of Rephaim. 

30 



JOSHUA. Chap. xv. 



father a field. And she aUghted from the ass ; and Caleb 

^'•^ said to her, what wouldst thou ? And she answered : Grive 

me a present. For thou hast given me a south land ; give 

me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs, 

^ and the nether springs. This is the inheritance of the tribe 

of the children of Judah according to their families. 
^^ And the cities from the extremity of the tribe of the chil- 
dren of Judah to the border of Edom in the south, were 
^^ Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur, and Kinah, and Dimonah, 
24 and Adadah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan, Ziph, and 
^^ Telem, and Bealoth, and Hazor-hadattah, and Kerioth-hezron, 
2? w^hich is Hazor, Amam, and Shema, and Moladah, and Ha- 
^^ zar-gaddah, and Heshmon, and Beth-palet, and Hazar-shual, 
^^ and Beersheba, and Bizjothjah, Baalah, and lim, and Azem, 
3? and El-tolad, and Chesil, and Hormah, and Ziklag, and 
^^ Madmannah, and Sansannah, and Lebaoth, and Shilhim, 
and Ain, and Rimmon ; all the cities twenty and nine, with 
their villages. 
^^ And in the low country, Eshtaol, and Zoreah, and Ashnah, 
35 and Zanoah, and En-gannim, Tappuah, and Enam, Jarmuth, 
^^ and Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah, and Sharaim, and Adith- 
aim, and Gederah, and Gederothaim, fourteen cities with their 
II villages ; Zenan, and Hadashah, and Migdal-gad, and Dilean, 
^^ and Mizpeh, and Joktheel, Lachish, and Bozkath, and Eg- 
fi Ion, and Cabbon, and Lahmam, and Kithlish, and Gederoth, 
Beth-dagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah, sixteen cities with 
il their villages ; Libnah, and Ether, and Ashan, and Jiphtah, 
^ and Ashnah, and Nezib, and Keilah, and Achzib, and Ma- 
*^ reshah, nine cities with their villages ; Ekron with her daugh- 
*^ ters and her villages ; from Ekron and to the sea, all that 
*^ was near Ashdod, with their villages ; Ashdod, her daughters 
and her villages ; Graza, her daughters and her villages, unto 
the river of Egypt and the great sea, and what borders it. 
to And in the mountains, Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh, and 
Dannah, and Kirjath-sannah, which is Debir, and Anab, and 



60 



V, 45. Daughters of a city were small towns in its vicinity^, dependent on it and subject to 
its jurisdiction. 

31 



Chap. xvi. JOSHUA. 



^^ Eshtemoh, and Anini, and Goshen, and Holon, and Giloh, 
•^"" eleven cities with their villages ; Arab, and Dumah, and 
^^ Eshean, and Janum, and Beth-tappuah, and Aphekah, 
^* and Humtah, and Kirjath-arba which is Hebron, and Zior, 
^^ nine cities with their villages ; Maon, Carmel, and Ziph, and 
5? Juttah, and Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah, Cain, 
^^ Gibeah, and Timnah, ten cities with their villages ; Halhul, 
^^ Beth-zLir, and Gedor, and Maarath, and Beth-anoth, and 
^ Eltekon, six cities with their villages ; Kirjath-baal which 
is Kirjath-jearim, and Rabbah, two cities with their vil- 
lages. 
62 in the wilderness, Beth-arabah, Middin, and Secacah, and 
Nibshan, and the city of Salt, and En-gedi, six cities with 
their villages. 
^ As for the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the 
children of Judah could not drive them out. And the 
Jebusites dwelt with the children of Judah at Jerusalem 
unto this day. 
^ And the lot fell to the children of Joseph from the Jordan 
by Jericho ; at the waters of Jericho on the east, to the wil- 
derness that goes up from Jericho on the mountain of Beth-el ; 
2 and it went out from Beth-el to Luz, and passed along unto 
^ the border of the Archite to Ataroth ; and it went down west- 
ward to the border of the Japhletites, unto the border of Beth- 
horon the lower, and unto Gezer ; and their terminations 
^ were at the sea. And the children of Joseph, Manasseh 

and Ephraim, took it for their possession. 

^ And the border of the children of Ephraim according to 

their families, the border of their inheritance on the east side 

^ was Ataroth-addar, unto Beth-horon the upper ; and the 

border went out toward the sea to Michmethah on the north ; 

and the border turned eastward unto Taanath-shiloh, and 

'^ passed by it eastward to Janohah ; and it went down from 

Janohah to Ataroth and Naarath, and came to Jericho, and 

^ went out at the Jordan. From Tappuah the border went 

out westward unto the river Kanah ; and its terminations 



V. 1. Waters of Jericho ; the fountaia of Eliaha (2 Kings 2 : 19-22). 

b2 



JOSHUA. Chap. xvn. 



were at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the 
^ children of Ephraim by their famihes ; and the cities set 
apart for the children of Ephraim in the midst of the inherit- 
ance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their 
1^ villages. And they did not drive out the Ganaanites that 
dwelt in Grezer ; and the Ganaanites dwelt among the Eph- 
raimites unto this day, and became tributary servants. 

1 There was a lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the 
firstborn of Joseph ; for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, 
the father of Grilead ; because he was a man of war, there- 

2 fore he had Gilead and Bashan. There was also for the rest 
of the children of Manasseh by their families ; for the chil- 
dren of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the 
children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for 
the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida ; 
these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph 
by their famili(3s. 

3 And Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, 
the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but 
daughters. And these are the names of his daughters ; 

* Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. And they 
came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the 
son of JSFun, and before the princes, saying: Jehovah com- 
manded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. 
And he gave them, according to the command of Jehovah, 

^ an inheritance among the brethren of their father. And there 
fell to Manasseh ten portions, besides the land of Gilead and 

^ Bashan, which was beyond the Jordan ; because the daugh- 
ters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons ; and the 
rest of Manasseh's sons had the land of Gilead. 

■^ And the border of Manasseh was from Asher to Michme- 
thah, that lies before Shechem ; and the border went along 
toward the right hand unto the inhabitants of En-tappuah. 

^ Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah ; and Tappuah on 
the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim. 

^ And the border went down to the river Kanah, southward of 
the river. These were cities of Ephraim among the cities of 

33 



Chap. xvni. JOSHUA. 



Manasseh. The border of Manasseh was on the north side 

1^ of the river, and its terminations were at the sea. South- 
ward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, 
and the sea was his border ; and they touched upon Asher 

1^ on the north, and Issachar on the east. And Manasseh had 
in Issachar and in Asher Beth-shean and her daughters, and 
Ibleam and her daughters, and the inhabitants of Dor and 
her daughters, and the inhabitants of Endor and her daugh- 
ters, and the inhabitants of Taanach and her daughters, and 
the inhabitants of Megiddo and her daughters, the three 

12 heights. And the children of Manasseh could not take pos- 
session of these cities ; and it was the will of the Canaanites 

1^ to dwell in that land. And it came to pass, when the chil- 
dren of Israel became strong, that they made the Canaanites 
tributary, and did not utterly dispossess them. 

1^ And the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying : Why 
hast thou given me one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing 
I am a great people, forasmuch as Jehovah has blessed me 

1^ hitherto ? And Joshua answered them : If thou art a great 
people, get thee up to the woodland, and cut dow^n for thy- 
self there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if 

1^ mount Ephraim is too narrow for thee. And the children of 
Joseph said : The mountain is not enough for us ; and all the 
Canaanites that dwell in the valley-land have chariots of iron, 
they who are of Beth-shean and her daughters, and they who 

^^ are of the valley of Jezreel. And Joshua spoke to the house 
of Joseph, to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying : Thou art a 
great people, and hast great power ; thou shalt not have one 

1^ lot. But a mountain shall be thine ; for it is a wood, and 
thou shalt cut it down, and the farthest ends of it shall be 
thine. For thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, because they 
have iron chariots, and because they are strong. 

1 And all the congregation of the children of Israel assembled 
together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congre- 

V. 11. l)ai(gldtrs. See the note on 15 : 45. 

V. 18. Farthest ends. Or, outgoings ; namely, outrunners, mountain spurs. 

34 



i 



OSHUA. Chap. xvm. 



2 gation there. And the land was subdued before them. And 
there remamed among the children of Israel seven tribes, 

3 which had not yet received their inheritance. And Joshua 
said to the children of Israel : How long do ye show your- 
selves slack to go in to possess the land, which Jehovah God 

^ of your fathers has given you ? Choose for you three men 
for each tribe, and I will send them. And they shall rise up 
and go through the land, and describe it according to their 

^ inheritance, and shall come again to me. And they shall 
divide it into seven parts. Judah shall abide in his border 
on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their 

^ border on the north. And ye shall describe the land in seven 
parts, and bring it hither to me ; and I will cast lots for you 

'^ here before Jehovah our Grod. For the Levites have no part 
among you ; for the priesthood of Jehovah is their inherit- 
ance. And Gad, and Reuben, and the half tribe of Manasseh, 
have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan on the east, 
which Moses the servant of Jehovah gave them. 

^ And the men arose, and went away. And Joshua charged 
them that went to describe the land, saying : Go and walk 
through the land, and describe it, and come again to me ; and 

^ I will here cast lots for you before Jehovah in Shiloh. And 
the men went and passed through the land, and described it 
by cities into seven parts in a book ; and they came again to 
^^ Joshua, to the camp at Shiloh. And Joshua cast lots for 
them in Shiloh before Jehovah ; and there Joshua distributed 
the land to the children of Israel, according to their divisions. 
^1 And there came up the lot of the tribe of the children of 
Benjamin according to their families. And the border of 
their lot came forth between the children of Judah and the 
^2 children of Joseph. And their border on the north side was 
from the Jordan ; and the border went up to the side of 
Jericho on the north, and went up on the mountain west- 
ward ; and the extremities thereof were at the wilderness 
^^ of Beth-aven. And the border passed over from thence 
toward Luz, to the south side of Luz, which is Beth-el. 
And the border went down to Ataroth-addar, on the 

35 



Chap. xix. JOSHUA. 



mountain that is on the south side of the lower Beth-horon. 

^* And the border was stretched onward, and turned toward 
the west side southward from the mountain that is before 
Beth-horon on the south ; and its extremities were at Kir- 
jath-baal, which is Kirjath-jearim, a city of the children of 

^^ Judah. This was the west side. And the south was from 
the end of Kirjath-jearim. And the border went out west- 
erly, and went out to the fauntain of water of Kephtoah ; 

^^ and the border went down to the end of the mountain that 
is before the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is in the 
valley of the giants on the north, and went down to the val- 
ley of Hinnom, to the south side of the Jebusites, and went 

^"^ down to En-rogel. And it extended northerly, and went out 
to En-she mesh, and went out toward Geliloth, which is over 
against the ascent of Adummim, and went down to the stone 

^^ of Bohan the son of Reuben. And it passed along toward 
the side over against Arabah northward, and went down to 

^^ Arabah. And the border passed along to the side of Beth- 
hoglah northward. And the extremities of the border were 
at the north tongue of the salt sea at the south end of the 

^^ Jordan. This was the south border. And the Jordan was its 
border on the east side. This was the inheritance of the 
children of Benjamin, by the borders thereof round about, 
according to their families. 

^ And the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, 
according to their families, were Jericho, and Beth-hoglah, 

^^ and Emek-Keziz, and Beth-arabah, and Zemaraim, and Beth- 

24 el, and Avim, and Parah, and Ophrah, and Chephar-haam- 
monai, and Ophni, and Gaba, twelve cities with their villages ; 

26 Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth, and Mizpeh, and Chephirah, 

28 and Mozah, and Rekem, and Irpeel, and Taralah, and Zelah, 
Eleph, and Jebusite which is Jerusalem, Gibeath, Kirjath, 
fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of 
the children of Benjamin, according to their famihes. 
^ And the second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of 
the children of Simeon, according to their families ; and their 
inheritance was within the inheritance of the children of 

36 



JOSHUA. Chap. xix. 



^ Judah. And they had m their mheritance, Beer-sheba, and 
^ Sheba, and Moladah, and Hazar-shual, and Balah, and Azem, 
5 and Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah, and Ziklag, and Beth- 
^ marcaboth, and Hazar-susah, and Beth-lebaoth, and Sharnhen, 
^ thirteen cities and their villages ; Ain, Remmon, and Ether, 
^ and Ashan, four cities and their villages ; and all the villages 
that were round about these cities to Baalath-beer, Bamath- 
neo-eb. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children 
^ of Simeon, according to their families. Out of the portion 
of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children 
of Simeon. For the part of the children of Judah was too 
much for them ; therefore the children of Simeon inherited 
within their inheritance. 
1^ And the thn^d lot came up for the children of Zebulun, ac- 
cording to their families. And the border of their inheritance 
1^ was unto Sarid. And their border went up toward the west, 
and Maralah, and reached to Dabbasheth, and reached to the 
12 river that is before Jokneam. And it turned from Sarid 
eastward toward the sunrising unto the border of Chisloth- 
tabor, and went out to Daberath, and went up to Japhia. 
^^ And from thence it passed on easterly toward the sunrising 
to Gittah-hepher, to Ittah-kazin, and went out to Remmon, 
^* that extends to Neah. And the border turned around it on 
the north side to Hannathon ; and the extremities thereof 
^^ were in the valley of Jiphthah-el ; and Kattath, and Nahallal, 
and Shimron, and Idalah, and Beth-lehem ; twelve cities with 
^^ their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of 
Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their 
villages. 
^■^ The fourth lot came out for Issachar, for the children of 
^^ Issachar according to their families. And their border was 
^^ toward Jezreel, and Chesulloth, and Shunem, and Haphraim, 
2^ and Shihon, and Anaharath, and Rabbith, and Kishion, and 
2^ Abez, and Remeth, and En-gannim, and En-haddah, and 
22 Beth-pazzez. And the border reached to Tabor, and Sha- 
hazimah, and Beth-shemesh ; and the extremities of their 
border were at the Jordan ; sixteen cities with their villages. 

37 



Chap. xix. JOSHUA. 



23 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar, 

according to their famihes, the cities with their villages. 
2* And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of 

25 Asher, according to their families. And their border was 

26 Helkath, and Hali, and Beten, and Achshaph, and Alam- 
melech, and Amad, and Mishal ; and it reached to Carmel 

2"^ westward, and to Shihor-libnath. And it turned toward the 
sunrising to Beth-dagon, and reached to Zebulun, and to the 
valley of Jiphthah-el toward the north of Beth-emek and 

2^ Neiel, and went out to Cabul on the left, and Hebron, and 

29 Behob, and Hammon, and Kanah, unto great Zidon. And 
the border turned to Bamah, and unto the Tyrian- fortress. 
And the border turned to Hosah ; and the extremities there- 

3^ of at the sea from the tract toward Achzib ; and Ummah, and 
Aphek, and Behob ; twenty and two cities with their villages. 

3^ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher, 
according to their families, these cities with their villages. 

32 The sixth lot came out for the children of Naphtali, for the 

33 children of Naphtali according to their families. And their 
border was from Heleph, from the oak by Zaanannim, and 
Adami-nekeb, and Jabneel, unto Lakum ; and the extremities 

3* thereof were at the Jordan ; and the border turned westward 
to Aznoth-tabor, and went out from thence to Hukkok, and 
reached to Zebulun on the south, and reached to Asher on 
the west, and to Judah upon the Jordan toward the sunris- 

35 ing. And the fenced cities were Ziddim, Zer, and Hammath, 

36 Bakkath, and Chinnereth, and Adamah, and Bamah, and 

38 Hazor, and Kedesh, and Edrei, and En-hazor, and Iron, and 
Migdal-el, Horem, and Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh ; nine- 

39 teen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the 
tribe of the children of Naphtali, according to their families, 
the cities with their villages. 

^^ The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of 
^^ Dan, according to their families. And the border of their 
^2 inheritance was Zorah, and Eshtaol, and Ir-shemesh, and 

V. 29. Tip'ian-fortress. See 2 Sam. 24 : 7, " stronghold of Tyre." 
Y. 33. The oak ; oak forest, 

38 



JOSHUA. Chap. xx. 



*^ Shaalabbin, and Aijalon, and Jethlah, and Elon, and Thim- 
** nathah, and Ekron, and Eltekeh, and Gibbethon, and Baalath, 
43 and Jehud, and Bene-berak, and Grath-rimmon, and Me- 
*^ jarkon, and Rakkon, with the border before Japho. And 
the border of the children of Dan went out from them. 
And the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem, 
and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and 
possessed it, and dwelt therein. And they called Leshem 
*^ Dan, after the name of Dan their father. This is the inherit- 
ance of the tribe of the children of Dan, according to their 
families, these cities with their villages. 
*^ When they had made an end of dividing the land for in- 
heritance by its boundaries, the children of Israel gave an 
^0 mheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun. Accord- 
ing to the word of Jehovah they gave him the city which he 
asked, Timnath-serah in mount Ephraim. And he built the 
^^ city, and dwelt therem. These are the inheritances, which 
Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads 
of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, divided 
for an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before Jehovah, at the 
door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And they made 
an end of dividing the country. 

2 And Jehovah spoke to Joshua, saying : Speak to the chil- 
dren of Israel, saying : Appoint for you cities of refuge, 

^ whereof I spoke to you by the hand of Moses ; that the 
slayer that kills any person unawares, unwittingly, may flee 
thither ; and they shall be to you a refuge from the avenger 

^ of blood. And when he that flees to one of these cities shall 
stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and shall declare 
his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take 
him to them into the city, and give him a place, that he may 

^ dwell among them. And if the avenger of blood pursue 
after him, then they shall not deliver up the slayer into his 
hand ; because he smote his neighbor unwittingly, and hated 



Ch. XX. Cities of refuge designated. See Num. 35 : 9-15. 

39 



Chap. xxi. JOSHUA. 



^ him not beforetime. And he shall dwell in that city, until 
he stand before the congregation for judgment, until the 
death of the high priest that shall be hi those days. Then 
shall the slayer return, and come to his own city and to his 
own house, to the city from whence he fled. 

■^ And they consecrated Kedesh in Galilee on mount Naphtali, 
and Shechem on mount Ephraim, and Kirjath-arba, which is 

^ Hebron, in the hill country of Judah. And beyond the Jor- 
dan by Jericho eastward, they appointed Bezer in the wilder- 
ness upon the plain, out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth 
in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out 

^ of the tribe of Manasseh. These were the cities assigned for 
all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourns 
among them ; that whosoever kills any person unawares may 
flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, 
until he has stood before the congregation. 

^ And the heads of the fathers of the Levites came near to 
Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the 
heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, 

2 and spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying : 
Jehovah commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities 

3 to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle. And the 
children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their inheritance, 
at the command of Jehovah, these cities and their suburbs. 

* And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. And 
the children of Aaron the priest, of the Levites, had by lot 
out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, 

^ and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities. And the 
rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families 
of the tribe of Ephraim^ and out of the tribe of Dan, and 

^ out of the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities. And the chil- 
dren of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe 
of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the 
tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in 

■^ Bashan, thirteen cities. The children of Merari, by their 
families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe 

^0 



JOSHUA. Chap. xxi. 



^ of Grad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities. And 

the children of Israel gave by lot to the Levites these cities 

with their suburbs, as Jehovah commanded by the hand of 

Moses. 
^ And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, 

and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities 
^^ which were called by name. And it came to the children of 

Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites, of the children of 
1^ Levi, for theirs was the first lot ; and they gave them the city 

of Arba the father of Anak, which is Hebron, in the hill 

country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it. 
^2 But the field of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they 

to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession. 
^^ And to the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron 

with her suburbs, a city of refuge for the slayer, and Libnah 
1* with her suburbs, and Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa 
^^ with her suburbs, and Holon with her suburbs, and Debir 
^^ with her suburbs, and Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with 

her suburbs, and Beth-shemesh with her suburbs ; nine cities 
^■^ out of these two tribes. And out of the tribe of Benjamin, 
^^ Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs, Anathoth 

with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs ; four cities. 
^^ All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were 

thirteen cities with their suburbs. 
2^ And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, the 

rest of the children of Kohath, they had the cities of their 
2^ lot out of the tribe of Ephraim. And they gave them She- 

chem with her suburbs on mount Ephraim, a city of refuge 

22 for the slayer, and Gezer with her suburbs, and Kibzaim with 
her suburbs, and Beth-horon with her suburbs ; four cities. 

23 And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gib- 
2^ bethon with her suburbs, Aijalon with her suburbs, Gath-rim- 
^^ mon with her suburbs • four cities. And out of the half tribe 

of Manasseh, Taanach with her suburbs, and Gath-rimmon 
26 with her suburbs ; two cities. All the cities were ten, with 
their suburbs, for the families of the rest of the children of 
Kohath. 

41 



Chap. xxi. JOSHUA. 



2"^ And to the children of Gershon, of the famihes of the Le- 

vites, out of the half tribe of Manasseh [they gave] Golan 

in Bashan with her suburbs, a city of refuge for the slayer, 

2^ and Beeshterah with her suburbs ; two cities. And out of 

tlie tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with 

29 her suburbs, Jarmuth with her suburbs, En-gannim with her 

^^ suburbs ; four cities. And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal 

^^ with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs, Helkath with her 

22 suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs ; four cities. And out 

of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, 

a city of refuge for the slayer, and Hammoth-dor with her 

22 suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs ; three cities. All the 

cities of the Gershonites, by their families, were thirteen cities 

with their suburbs. 

2* And to the families of the children of Merari the rest of 

the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with her 

25 suburbs, Kartah with her suburbs, Dimnah with her suburbs, 

26 Nahalal with her suburbs ; four cities. And out of the tribe 
of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahazah with her 

2"^ suburbs, Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her 

28 suburbs ; four cities. And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth 
in Gilead with her suburbs, a city of refuge for the slayer, 

29 and Mahanaim with her suburbs, Heshbon with her suburbs, 
^^ Jazer with her suburbs ; four cities in all. All the cities for 

the children of Merari by their families, the rest of the fami- 
^1 lies of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities. All the 

cities of the Levites, within the possession of the children of 
*2 Israel, were forty and eight cities with their suburbs. These 

cities were every one with their suburbs round about them ; 

thus were all these cities. 
^2 And Jehovah gave to Israel all the land which he had 

sworn to give to their fathers ; and they possessed it, and 
^* dwelt therein. And Jehovah gave them rest round about, 

according to all that he had sworn to their fathers. And 

there stood not a man of all their enemies before them ; Je- 



V. 41. Forty and eight cities. As commanded in Num. 35: 2, and 6-8. 

42 



JOSHUA. Chap. xxn. 



^^ hovah delivered all their enemies into their hands. There 
failed not ought of any good thing which Jehovah had spoken 
to the house of Israel ; all came to pass. 

1 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and 

2 the half tribe of Manasseh, and said to them : Ye have kept 
all that Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded you, and 

^ have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you. Ye 
have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, 
but have kept the charge, the commandment of Jehovah 

* 3^our God. And now Jehovah your God has given rest to 
your brethren, as he spoke to them. And now return ye, 
and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which 
Moses the servant of Jehovah gave you beyond the Jordan. 

^ Only take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, 
which Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded you, to love 
Jehovah your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep 
his commandments, and to cleave to him, and to serve him 

^ with all your heart and with all your soul. And Joshua 
blessed them, and let them go ; and they went to their tents. 

^ And to the half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given 
[possession] in Bashan ; and to the half thereof Joshua gave 
it among their brethren beyond the Jordan westward. And 
also when Joshua let them go to their tents, he blessed them. 

^ And he spoke to them, saying : Return with much riches to 
your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with 
gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with raiment in great 
abundance. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your 
brethren. 

^ And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and 
the half tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the 
children of Israel, from Shiloh which is in the land of Ca- 
naan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their posses- 
sion, wherein they took possessions according to the word of 

^^ Jehovah by the hand of Moses. And they came to the bor- 
ders of the Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan. And 

Chs. xxii.-xxiv. Administration of Joshua.— His death. 

43 



Chap. xxn. JOSHUA. 



the children of Reuben, and the children of G-ad, and the half 
tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar 
great in appearance. 

11 And the children of Israel heard say : Behold, the children 
of Reuben, and the children of Grad, and the half tribe of 
Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, 
in the borders of the Jordan, opposite the children of Israel. 

12 And when the children of Israel heard it, the whole congre- 
gation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together 

1^ at Shiloh, to go up an army against them. And the children 
of Israel sent to the children of Reuben, and to the children 
of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh into the land of 

1^ Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest ; and with him 
ten princes, a prince for each ancestral house of all the tribes 
of Israel ; and they were heads each one of them of their 
ancestral houses, of the thousands of Israel. 

1^ And they came to the children of Reuben, and to the 
children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, into the 

1^ land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying : Thus say 
all the congregation of Jehovah : What trespass is this that 
ye have trespassed against the God of Israel, to turn away 
this day from following Jehovah, m that ye have built for 

1^ you an altar, to rebel this day against Jehovah? Is the in- 
iquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed 
to this da}^ and the plague was upon the congregation of Je- 

1^ hovah, that ye should turn away this day from following 
Jehovah? And it will be, that to day ye rebel against Jeho- 
vah, and to morrow he will be wroth with the whole congre- 

1^ gation of Israel. But, if the land of your possession is un- 
clean, pass over to the land of Jehovah's possession, wherein 
dwells the tabernacle of Jehovah, and take possession among 
us. And rebel not against Jehovah, nor rebel against us, in 
building you an altar, besides the altar of Jehovah our God. 

20 Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the ac- 
cursed thing, and wrath was on all the congregation of Israel? 
And he perished not alone in his iniquity. 

V. 17. Iniquity of Feor. See Num. 25 : 2-4. 

u 



JOSHUA. Chap. xxii. 



2^ And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and 
the half tribe of Manasseh answered, and spoke to the heads 

22 of the thousands of Israel: God, God Jehovah, God, God 
Jehovah, he knows, and Israel he shall know. If it be in 
rebellion, or if in transgression against Jehovah, (save us not 

23 this day,) that we have built us an altar to turn from follow- 
ing Jehovah, or if to offer thereon burnt offering or meat 
offering, or if to make peace offerings thereon, let Jehovah 

2"^ himself require it ; and if we have not done it from fear, for 
a cause, saying, in time to come your children will speak to 
our children, saying, what have ye to do with Jehovah God 

25 of Israel? For Jehovah has made the Jordan a border be- 
tween us and you, ye children of Reuben, and children of 
Gad ; ye have no part in Jehovah. And your children will 

2<5 make our children cease from fearing Jehovah. And we 
said : Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt 

2"^ offering, nor for sacrifice ; but that it may be a witness be- 
tween us and you and our generations after us, that we do 
the service of Jehovah before him with our burnt offerings, 
and with our sacrifices, and wdth our peace offerings ; that 
your children may not say to our children in time to come, 

2^ Ye have no part in Jehovah. And we said, if it be that 
they shall so say to us and to our generations in time to come, 
then we may say : Behold the pattern of the altar of Jeho- 
vah, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for 

29 sacrifices ; but it is a witness between us and you. Far be it 
from us, that we should rebel against Jehovah, and turn this 
day from following Jehovah, to build an altar for burnt offer- 
ings, for meat offerings, and for sacrifices, besides the altar of 
Jehovah our God that is before his tabernacle. 

3^ And Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congrega- 
tion and heads of the thousands of Israel which were with 
him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the 
children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spoke ; and it 

^ was good in their sight. And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar 
the priest, said to the children of Reuben, and to the children 
of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh: This day we pcr- 

45 



Chap. xxm. JOSHUA. 



ceive that Jehovah is among us, because ye have not com- 
mitted this trespass against Jehovah ; now ye have dehvered 
the children of Israel out of the hand of Jehovah. 

32 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, and the 
princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the 
children of Grad, out of the land of Gilead, into the land of 
Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought back word to 

33 them. And the thing was good in the sight of the children 
of Israel. And the children of Israel blessed God, and no 
longer purposed to go up an army against them, to lay waste 
the land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt. 

3* And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called 
the altar, A witness between us that Jehovah is God. 

1 And it came to pass, many years after Jehovah had given 
rest to Israel from all their enemies round about, and Joshua 

2 was old, far gone in years ; that Joshua called all Israel, their 
elders, and their heads, and their judgi^s, and their officers, 

3 and said to them : I am old, far gone in years. And ye have 
seen all that Jehovah your God has done to all these nations 
because of you ; for Jehovah your God is he that fought for 

* you. See, I have divided to you by lot these nations that 
remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, 
and all the nations that I have cut off, and the great sea at 

^ the going down of the sun. And Jehovah your God, he 
will thrust them out from before you, and drive them from 
your presence ; and ye shall possess their land, as Jehovah 

^ your God has promised to you. Be ye therefore very stead- 
fast, to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the 
law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right 

^ hand or to the left ; that ye come not among these nations, 
these that remain among you ; nor make mention of the name 
of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, nor serve them, 

^ nor bow yourselves to them ; but cleave unto Jehovah your 

^ God, as ye have done to this day. And Jehovah has driven 
out from before you great nations and strong ; and as for you, 

^0 no man has been able to stand before you to this day. One 

46 



JOSHUA. Chap. xxiv. 



man of you shall chase a thousand ; for Jehovah your God, 

11 he it is that fights for you, as he has promised you. And 
take good heed to yourselves, that ye love Jehovah your God. 

12 For if ye do in any manner go back, and cleave to the rem- 
nant of these nations, these that remam with you, and shall 
make marriages with them, and go in with them, and they 

1^ with you ; know assuredly that Jehovah your God will no 
more drive out these nations from your presence ; but they 
will be snares and traps to you, and scourges in your sides, 
and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish out of this good land 

1^ which Jehovah your God has given you. And, behold, this 
day I am going the way of all the earth ; and ye know in all 
your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing has failed 
of all the good things which Jehovah your God spoke con- 
cerning you ; all are come to pass to you, not one thing has 

1^ failed thereof And it shall come to pass, that as all good 
things are come upon you, which Jehovah your God has 
spoken to you ; so will Jehovah bring upon you every evil 
thing, until he shall have destroyed you off from this good 

1^ land which Jehovah your God gave to you. When ye trans- 
gress the covenant of Jehovah your God, which he com- 
manded you, and go and serve other gods, and bow your- 
selves to them ; then will the anger of Jehovah be kindled 
against you, and ye shall perish quickly off the good land 
which he gave to you. 

1 And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem ; 
and he called the elders of Israel, and their heads, and their 
judges, and their officers, and they presented themselves be- 

2 fore God. And Joshua said to all the people : Thus says 
Jehovah God of Israel, your fathers dwelt beyond the river 
in old time, Terah the father of Abraham and the father of 

^ I^ahor ; and they served other gods. And I took your father 
Abraham from beyond the river, and led him throughout 
all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave 

^ him Isaac. And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau ; and to 

V. 2. River ; Euphrates, as in ch, 1 : 4. 

47 



Chap. xxiv. JOSHUA. 



Esau I gave mount Seir, to possess it ; and Jacob and his 

^ children went down into Egypt. And I sent Moses and 
Aaron, and I smote Egypt, in that which I did in the midst 

6 of them ; and afterward I brought you out. And I brought 
your fathers out of Egypt. And ye came to the sea ; and 
the Egyptians pursued after your fathers, with chariots and 

■^ horsemen, unto the Red sea. And they cried to Jehovah ; 
and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and 
brought the sea upon them, and covered them ; and your 
eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt. And ye dwelt 

^ in the wilderness a long season. And I brought you into the 
land of the Amorites, who dwelt beyond the Jordan. And 
they fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, that 
ye might possess their land ; and I destroyed them from before 

^ you. And Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, rose up 
and warred against Israel ; and he sent and called Balaam the 
1^ son of Beor to curse you. And I would not hearken to Ba- 
laam, and he still blessed you ; and I delivered you out of his 

11 hand. And ye passed over the Jordan, and came to Jericho. 
And the inhabitants of Jericho fought against you ; the Am- 
orites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, 
and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites ; and I 

12 delivered them into your hand. And I sent before you the 
hornets ; which drove them out from before you, the two 
kings of the Amorites ; not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. 

13 And I gave you a land on which ye labored not, and cities 
which ye built not, and ye dwell in them ; of vineyards and 
oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat. 

^* And now fear Jehovah, and serve him in sincerity and in 
truth ; and put away the gods which your fathers served be- 

1^ yond the river, and in Egypt, and serve ye Jehovah. And 
if it seem evil to you to serve Jehovah, choose for you this 
day whom ye will serve ; whether the gods which your fathers 
served, that were beyond the river, or the gods of the Amor- 
ites, in whose land ye dwell ; but as for me and my house, 
we will serve Jehovah. 

V. 12. The hornets ; metaphorically descriptive of the terror and panic which preceded the 
advance of the Israelites. 

48 



JOSHUA. Chap. xxiy. 



^^ And the people answered and said : Far be it from us that 

^^ we should forsake Jehovah, to serve other gods. For Jeho- 
vah our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out 
of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who 
did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the 
way wherein we went, and among all the people through 

^^ whom we passed. And Jehovah drove out from before us all 
the peoples, and the Amorites which dwelt in the land ; we 
will also serve Jehovah, for he is our God. 

1^ And Joshua said to the people : Ye cannot serve Jehovah. 
For he is a holy God ; he is a jealous God ; he will not for- 

20 give your transgressions nor your sins. If ye forsake Jeho- 
vah, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you 
hurt, and consume you, after that he has done you good. 

21 And the people said to Joshua : Nay ; for we will serve Je- 

22 hovah. And Joshua said to the people : Ye are witnesses 
against yourselves, that ye have chosen for you Jehovah, to 

23 serve him. And they said : We are witnesses. And now 
put away the strange gods which are among you, and incline 

2^ your heart to Jehovah God of Israel. And the people said 
to Joshua: Jehovah our God will we serve, and his voice 

25 will we obey. And Joshua made a covenant with the people 
that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 

26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of 
God ; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under 

2"^ an oak, that was by the sanctuary of Jehovah. And Joshua 
said to all the people : Behold, this stone shall be for a wit- 
ness against us ; for it has heard all the words of Jehovah 
which he has spoken with us, and shall be for a witness 

2^ against you, lest ye deny your God. And Joshua let the 
people depart, every man to his inheritance. 

29 And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the 
son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died, being a hundred 

^0 and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of 
his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim, 

21 on the north side of mount Gaash. And Israel served Je- 
hovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days, of the elders 

. 49 



Chap. xxiv. JOSHUA. 



that long outlived Joshua, and who had known all the works 
of Jehovah, that he had done for Israel. 

32 And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel 
brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a part 
of the field which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor, the 
father of Shechem, for a hundred kesitas ; and it became the 

32 inheritance of the children of Joseph. And Eleazar the son 
of Aaron died. And they buried him in Gribeah [the city] of 
Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim. 

V. 32. Kesitas. See the writer's note on Gen. 33 : 19. 

50 



BOOK OF THE JUDGES. 

^ And it came to pass after the death of Joshua, that the 
children of Israel inquired of Jehovah, saying: Who shall 
first go up for us against the Canaanites, to fight against 

2 them? And Jehovah said: Judah shall go up. Behold, I 

^ have given the land into his hand. And Judah said to 
Simeon his brother : Go up with me into my lot, and let us 
fight against the Canaanites ; and I also will go with thee 

* into thy lot. And Simeon went with him. And Judah 
went up ; and Jehovah gave the Canaanites and the Periz- 
zites into their hand ; and they smote of them in Bezek ten 

^ thousand men. And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek ; and 
they fought against him, and they smote the Canaanites and 

^ the Perizzites. And Adoni-bezek fled. And they pursued 
after him, and caught him ; and they cut off his thumbs and 

■^ his great toes. And Adoni-bezek said : Threescore and ten 
kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gath- 
ered [food] under my table. As I have done, so God has 
requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and 

^ there he died. And the children of Judah fought against 
Jerusalem. And they took it, and smote it with the edge 
of the sword, and set the city on fire. 

^ And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight 
against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the hill country, and in 

1^ the south, and in the lowland. And Judah went against 
the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron ; and the name of He- 
bron formerly was city of Arba; and they smote Sheshai, 

^^ and Ahiman, and Talmai. And from thence he went against 
the inhabitants of Debir ; and the name of Debir formerly 

^2 was Kirjath-sepher. And Caleb said : He that smites Kirjath- 

V. 10. Oily of Arba. (?r, Kirjath-arba. 

51 



Chap. i. JUDGES. 



sepher, and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter 
^^ to wife. And Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger 

brother, took it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter to 
^^ wife. And it came to pass, when she had come, that she 

moved him to ask of her father the field. And she alighted 

from the ass ; and Caleb said to her. What wouldest thou ? 
15 And she said to him: Give me a present. For thou hast 

given me a south land ; give me also springs of water. And 

Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs. 
^^' And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father in law, went 

up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah 

into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the south of Arad. 
1"^ And they went and dwelt among the people. And Judah 

went with Simeon his brother, and they smote the Canaanites 

that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the 
1^ name of the city was called Hormah. And Judah took 

Gaza with the border thereof, and Ashkelon with the border 
1^ thereof, and Ekron with the border thereof. And Jehovah 

was with Judah ; and he took possession of the hill country ; 

for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, be- 

20 cause they had chariots of iron. And they gave Hebron to 
Caleb, as Moses said ; and he drove out thence the three 
sons of Anak. 

21 And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebu- 
sites that inhabited Jerusalem ; and the Jebusites dwell with 
the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day. 

22 And the house of Joseph, they also went up to Beth-el ; 

23 and Jehovah was wdth them. And the house of Joseph sent 
to spy out Beth-el. And the name of the city formerly was 

2^ Luz. And the watchers saw a man come forth out of the 
city. And they said to him: Show us, we pray thee, the 
entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with thee. 

25 And he showed them the entrance into the city. And they 
smote the city with the edge of the sword ; and they let the 

26 man go and all his family. And the man went into the land 
of the Hittites. And he built a city, and called its name 
Luz. That is its name to this day. 

52 



JUDGES. Chap. n. 



2"^ Nor did Manasseh get possession of Beth-shean and her 
daughters, nor Taanach and her daughters, nor [drive out] 
the inhabitants of Dor and her daughters, nor the inhabit- 
ants of Ibleam and her daughters, nor the inhabitants of 
Megiddo and her daughters. And it was the will of the 

2^ Canaanites to dwell in that land. And it came to pass, when 
Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, 
and did not utterly drive them out. 

2^ Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in 
Gezer ; and the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. 

2^ Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor 
the inhabitants of Nahalol ; and the Canaanites dwelt among 
them, and became tributary. 

31 Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the 
inhabitants of Zidon, and Ahlab, and Achzib, and Helbah, 

22 and Aphik, and Rehob. And the Asherites dwelt among 
the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land ; for they did not 
drive them out. 

22 Nor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, 
nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath ; and he dwelt among the 
Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. And the inhabitants 
of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became tributary to them. 

^^ And the Amorites crowded the children of Dan into the hill 
country ; for they would not suffer them to come down to the 

25 valley. And it was the will of the Amorites to dwell in 
mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim. And the hand 
of the house of Joseph was heavy, and they became tribu- 

26 tary. And the border of the Amorites was from the ascent 
to Akrabbim, from Sela, and upward. 

1 And an angel of Jehovah came up from Gilgal to Bochim, 
and said : I made you go up out of Egypt, and have brought 
you unto the land which I had sworn to your fathers ; and I 

2 said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall 
make no league with the inhabitants of this land ; ye shall 
throw down their altars ; and ye have not obeyed my voice. 

V. 27. Daughters. See the note on Josh. 15 : 45. 

53 



Chap. n. JUDGES. 



3 What is this that ye have done? And I have also said : I 
will not thrust them out from before you ; but they shall be 
your adversaries, and their gods shall be a snare to you. 

^ And it came to pass, when the angel of Jehovah had spoken 
these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted 

^ up their voice, and wept. And they called the name of that 
place Bochim. And they sacrificed there to Jehovah. 

^ And Joshua let the people go ; and the children of Israel 

'^ went every man to his inheritance, to possess the land. And 
the people served Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the 
days of the elders that long outlived Joshua, who saw all the 

^ great works of Jehovah, that he wrought for Israel. And 
Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died, being 

^ a hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the 
border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the mount of 
1^ Ephraim, on the north side of mount Gaash. And also all 
that generation were gathered to their fathers ; and there 
arose another generation after them, which knew not Jehovah, 
nor yet the works which he had wrought for Israel. 

11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Jehovah, 

12 and served the Baals. And they forsook Jehovah, the God 
of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, 
and went after other gods, of the gods of the peoples that 
were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, 

1^ and provoked Jehovah to anger. And they forsook Jehovah, 
and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. 

1^ And the anger of Jehovah burned against Israel ; and he 
gave them into the hand of plunderers that plundered them, 
and he sold them into the hand of their enemies round about, 

1^ and they could no longer stand before their enemies. Whith- 
ersoever they went out, the hand of Jehovah was against 

v. 5. Bochim ; Weepers. 

v. 11. Baals. There were many temples of Baal, the supreme male divinity of those 
idolatrous nations ; and he was worshipped under various local designations, and diversities 
of character and attributes. Baalim, in our common version, is the Hebrew plural of Baal. 

V. 13. Ashtoreth'Was the supreme female divinity of those nations. She was the goddess 
of licentiousness as well as of good fortune ; and her numerous temples were thronged with 
Jier votaries. For Baal and Ashtoreth see the writer's note on Gen. 14 : 5. 

54 



JUDGES. Chap. hi. 



them for evil; as Jehovah had said, and as Jehovah had 
sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed. 

16 And Jehovah raised up judges; and they rescued them 

1^ from the hand of those that plundered them. And to their 
judges also they hearkened not ; for they went adulterously 
after other gods, and bowed themselves to them ; they turned 
quickly from the way which their fathers walked in, obeying 

1^ the commandments of Jehovah ; not so did they. And when 
Jehovah raised them up judges, then Jehovah was with the 
judge, and rescued them from the hand of their enemies all 
the days of the judge. For Jehovah had compassion, be- 
cause of their groanings on account of those that oppressed 

1^ them, and afflicted them. And it came to pass, when the 
judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves 
more than did their fathers, in going after other gods to serve 
them, and to bow down to them. They ceased not from their 
own doings, nor from their stubborn way. 

2^ And the anger of Jehovah burned against Israel. And 
he said : Because this people have transgressed my covenant 
which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened to 

21 my voice ; I also will no more drive out any from before 

22 them, of the nations which Joshua left when he died ; that 
by them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way 
of Jehovah to walk therein, as their fathers kept it, or not. 
And Jehovah let those nations remain, without speedily driv- 
ing them out ; nor did he give them into the hand of Joshua. 



23 



^ And these are the nations which Jehovah let remain, to 
prove Israel by them, as many [of Israel] as had not known 

^ all the wars of Canaan ; only that the generations of the chil- 
dren of Israel might get knowledge, to teach them war, them 

^ only who knew it not before : [Namely] , five lords of the 
Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the 
Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-her- 

^ mon unto the entering in of Hamath. And they were for 
proving Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken 

V. 17. Adulterously. See the writer's note on Ps. 73 : 27. 

55 



Chap. m. JUDGES. 



unto the commandments of Jehovah, which he commanded 
their Mhers by the hand of Moses. 

^ And the children of Israel dwelt in the midst of the Ca- 
naanites, the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, 

6 and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And they took their 
daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their 

■^ sons, and served their gods. And the children of Israel did 
evil in the sight of Jehovah, and forgot Jehovah their God, 
and served the Baals and the Asheras. 

^ And the anger of Jehovah burned against Israel. And he 
sold them into the hand of Chushan-rishathaim king of Meso- 
potamia ; and the children of Israel served Chushan-risha- 

^ thaim eight years. And the children of Israel cried unto 
Jehovah. And Jehovah raised up a deliverer to the chil- 
dren of Israel, who delivered them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, 

^^ Caleb's younger brother. And the Spirit of Jehovah was 
upon him, and he judged Israel. And he went out to war ; 
and Jehovah gave Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia 
into his hand, and his hand prevailed against Chushan-risha- 

^1 thaim. And the land had rest forty years ; and Othniel the 
son of Kenaz died. 

12 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight 
of Jehovah, and Jehovah strengthened Eglon the king of 
Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of 

1^ Jehovah. And he gathered to him the children of Ammon 
and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and took possession 

1* of the city of palm trees. And the children of Israel served 

1^ Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. And the children 
of Israel cried unto Jehovah. And Jehovah raised them up 
a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man left- 
handed. 

And by him the children of Israel sent a present to Eglon 

1^ the king of Moab. And Ehud made him a dagger which had 
two edges, of a cubit's length; and he girded it under his 

v. 7. Ashera wasa female idol, the goddess of concupiscence, represented and worshipped 
in the form of wooden images or pillars. 
V. 12. Strengthened. See Joshua 11 : 20. 

56 



JUDGES. Chap. m. 



1^ raiment upon his right thigh. And he brought the present 
to Eglon king of Moab. And Eglon was a very fat man. 
1^ And when he had made an end of offering the present, he 
^^ sent away the people that bore the present. And he himself 
turned back from the graven images that were by Gilgal, and 
said : T have a secret message for thee, king. And he said : 
Silence! And all that stood by him went out from him. 

20 And Ehud came in to him ; and he was sitting in a cool up- 
per chamber, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud 
said : I have a message from God to thee. And he rose up 

21 from the seat. And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took 
the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his bowels. 

22 And the haft also went in after the blade, and the fat closed 
upon the blade ; for he did not draw the dagger out of his 

2^ bowels, and it came out behind. And Ehud went out on the 
balcony, and shut the doors of the upper chamber upon him, 

2^ and locked them. And he went out. And his servants came 
in and saw, and behold, the doors of the upper chamber were 
locked ; and they said : Surely he covers his feet in his cool 

25 inner chamber. And they waited till they were ashamed ; 
and, behold, he opened not the doors of the chamber. And 
they took the key, and opened them ; and, behold, their lord 

2^ was fallen down dead on the earth. And Ehud escaped while 
they delayed ; and he passed beyond the graven images, and 

2^ escaped to Seirath. And it came to pass, when he was come, 
that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the 
children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and 

28 he before them. And he said to them : Hasten after me ; for 
Jehovah has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your 
hand. And they went down after him, and seized the fords 
of the Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass 

29 over. And they smote of Moab at that time about ten thou- 
sand men, all-robust, and all men of war ; and there escaped 

30 not a man. And Moab was subdued that day under the hand 
of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years. 

31 And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath ; and he 
smote of the Philistines six hundred men with an oxgoad. 
And he also delivered Israel. 

57 



Chap. iy. JUDGES. 



1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of 

2 Jehovah; and Ehud was dead. And Jehovah sold them 
into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Ha- 
zor ; and the captain of his host was Sisera, and he dwelt in 

3 Harosheth of the Gentiles. And the children of Israel cried 
unto Jehovah. For he had nine hundred chariots of iron ; 
and twenty years he violently oppressed the children of Israel. 

^ And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she 

^ judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm 
tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Beth-el on mount Eph- 
raim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judg- 

^ ment. And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam 
out of Kedesh-naphtali. And she said to him : Has not Jeho- 
vah God of Israel commanded? Go and draw toward mount 
Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children 

■^ of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? And I will 
draw unto thee, to the river Kishon, Sisera the captain of 
Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude ; and I will 

® give him into thy hand. And Barak said to her: If thou 
wilt go with me, then I will go ; and if thou wilt not go with 

^ me, I will not go. And she said : I will surely go with thee. 
But yet thine honor will not be on the way that thou goest ; 
for Jehovah will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And 
Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. 

^^ And Barak called together Zebulun and Naphtali to 
Kedesh ; and there went up ten thousand men at his feet, 

^^ and Deborah went up with him. Now Heber the Kenite 
had severed himself from the Kenites, of the children of 
Hobab the father in law of Moses ; and he pitched his tent 

^2 unto the oak of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh. And they 
made known to Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was 

1^ gone up to mount Tabor. And Sisera called together all his 
chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people 
that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the 

^* river of Kishon. And Deborah said to Barak : Up ; for this 
is the day in which Jehovah has given Sisera into thy hand. 

58 



JUDGES. Chap. iv. 



Is not Jehovah gone out before thee? And Barak went 
down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. 

1^ And Jehovah discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all 
his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak. And 
Sisera alighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his 

^^ feet. And Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the 
host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles. And all the host of 
Sisera fell by the edge of the sword ; there was not even a 

^'^ man left. And Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of 
Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite. For there was peace 
between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber 
the Kenite. 

^^ And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him : Turn 
aside, my lord, turn aside to me ; fear not. And he turned 
aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with the car- 

1^ pet. And he said to her : Give me, I pray thee, a little 
water to drink ; for I am thirsty. And she opened the skin 

20 of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him. And he said 
to her : Stand in the door of the tent, and if any man shall 
come and inquire of thee, and say : Is there any one here ? 

21 thou shalt say, N'o one. And Jael, Heber's wife, took the tent- 
pin, and put the hammer in her hand, and came softly to him, 
and smote the pin into his temples, and it went down into 
the ground. And he was in a deep sleep and weary ; and 

22 he died. And, behold, Barak was pursuing Sisera. And 
Jael came out to meet him ; and she said to him : Go, and I 
will show thee the man whom thou seekest. And he came 
in to her, and, behold, Sisera fallen dead, and the pin in his 

23 temples. And God subdued on that day Jabin the king of 
2* Canaan before the children of Israel. And the hand of the 

children of Israel grew more and more heavy against Jabin 
the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Ca- 
naan. 

V. 19. Skin of milk. See the writer's note on Gen. 21 : 14. 

V. 21. Jael, Heher's wife. There is no reason to doubt that she, notwithstanding the course 
taken by her husband (ch. 4:11, 12), remained faithful to the cause of God's people. This 
was her motive for the act here describod, and the ground of the commendation bestowed on 
it in ch. 5 : 24. Neither the act itself, nor Deborah's approval, is to be judged by the rules of 
our higher civilization. 

59 



Chap. v. JUDGES. 



1 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that 
day, saymg:— 

2 That leaders in Israel led on, 

That the people freely gave themselves, 
Bless ye Jehovah ! 

3 Hear, ye kings ; give ear, ye princes ; 
I, to Jehovah will I sing ; 

"Will sing praise to Jehovah, God of Israel. 

4 Jehovah, when thou wentest forth out of Seir, 
When thou didst march from the field of Edom, 
Earth trembled, yea the heavens dropped, 

Yea the clouds dropped water. 

5 The mountains quaked before Jehovah — 
That Sinai before Jehovah, God of Israel. 

6 In the days of Shamgar, the son of Anath, 
In the days of Jael, the highways had rest, 
And travelers went through by-paths. 

T The}'- ceased, a ruler in Israel, they ceased, 

Until that I, Deborah, arose, 
That I arose, a mother in Israel. 

8 They chose new gods ; 
Then was war in the gates ; 

Was there seen a shield or a spear. 
Among forty thousand in Israel? 

9 My heart is toward the commanders of Israel ; 

To them of the people that freely gave themselves. 
Bless ye Jehovah ! 

10 Ye that ride on white asses, 
Y'"e that sit on carpetings. 
And ye that walk by the way. 
Think thereon; 

11 Of the shout of those parting the spoil with water-drawers — 
There will they rehearse Jehovah's righteous acts, 

The righteous acts of his rule in Israel. 

Then came they down to the gates, the people of Jehovah. 

12 Awake, awake, Deborah ; 
Awake, awake, utter a song ; 

Arise, Barak, and lead thy captured captive, 
Thou son of Abinoam ! 

18 Then came down a remnant of the nobles, a people ; 

Jehovah came down to me among the valiant ; 
U Out of Ephraim, their seat in Amalek, 

After thee, Benjamin, among thy peoples ; 

eo 



JUDGES. Chap. v. 



Out of Machir came down commanders, 

And out of Zebulun those holding the musterer's staff. 

15 And my chiefs in Issachar were with Deborah ; 
And Issachar, the strength of Barak, 
Bushed at his feet into the valley. 

By the streams of Keuben 
Great were the resolves of heart. 

16 Why abodest thou among the sheep-folds, 
To hear the bleatings of the flocks? 

By the streams of Keuben 

Great were the searchings of heart. 

17 Gilead abode beyond the Jordan ; 
And Dan, why sojourns he in ships? 
Asher sat by the sea-shore, 

And abode in his havens. 

18 Zebulun, a people that scorned its life, unto death, 
And Naphtali, in the high places of the field. 

W There came kings — they fought ; 

Then fought the kings of Canaan, 
At Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo ; 
Spoil of silver they took not away. 

20 From heaven they fought ; 

The stars in their courses fought against Sisera. 

21 The river Kishon swept them away. 
That ancient river, the river Kishon, 

O my soul, thou shalt tread down the strong ! 

22 Then stamped the horses' hoofs 

In the rush, the rush of their mighty ones. 

28 Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of Jehovah ; 

Curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof ; 
Because they came not to the help of Jehovah, 
To the help of Jehovah against the mighty. 

24 Blessed above women be Jael, 
The wife of Heber the Kenite ; 

Blessed shall she be above women in the tent. 

25 He asked water, she gave him milk ; 

She brought curdled milk in a lordly dish. 
2* She stretched out her hand to the nail. 

And her right hand to the workmen's hammer; 

And she smote Sisera, she smote through his head. 

And she crushed and pierced through his temples. 

At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay ; 

At her feet he bowed, he fell ; 

Where he bowed, there he fell down slain. 



27 



The mother of Sisera looked out at the window, 
And cried through the lattice : — 
Why is his chariot so long in coming? 

61 



Chap. yi. JUDGES. 



"Why tarry the wheels of his chariots? 
29 Her wise princesses answered, 

Yea, she returned answer to lierself : — 

80 Have they not sped, divided the prey? 
A damsel, two damsels, to every man ; 
A prey of dyed garments to Sisera, 

A prey of dyed garments of embroidery ; 
A dyed garment of double embroidery, 
For the neck of the spoiler. 

81 So let all thine enemies perish, Jehovah I 
But they that love him are as the sun, 
When he goes forth in his might, i 

And the land had rest forty years. 

^ And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Jehovah ; 

and Jehovah gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. 
2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of 

the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the 

dens which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the 
2 strongholds. And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the 

Midianites came up and the Amalekites, and the sons of the 
^ east they came up, against them. And they encamped against 

them, and destroyed the produce of the earth, till thou com- 

est to Graza ; and they left no sustenance in Israel, neither 
^ sheep, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle 

and their tents ; and they came as locusts for multitude. 

They and their camels were without number ; and they came 
^ into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly enfeebled 

1 This sublime ode, commemorating the greatest of the many victories won in Jehovah's 
name, had a lasting influence on the spirit of the people, and of the national literature. See, 
for example, the 68th Psalm in the writer's revised version, and his remarks there, and in its 

republication in Dr. SchafT's edition of Lange's volume on the Psalms. V. 4. Seir— Edom. 

Compare Deut. 32 : 2. V. 10 includes all ranks. That ride on white asses, men of princely 

rank, nobles ; that sU on carpetings, the wealthy, they that live luxuriously ; that walk by the 

way, that go on foot, the common people. V. 11. Even the water-drawers, as they divide 

the spoils at the fountains, will there recount the deeds of Jehovah. Then came they down 

to the gales ; from the mountain retreats (ch. 6 : 2) to their towns, now treed from the van- 
quished enemy. W. 15, 16. Great i-esolves ; that came to nothing. Searchings of heart ; 

showing that they were not wholly indifferent to the call of duty, but they could not forego the 

case and security of their pastoral life. V. 20. They fought J rom ?ieaven, etc. A poetic 

and figurative conception of deliverance wrought from on high. V. 23. Meroz. A place 

mentioned only here ; nothing more is known of it. V. 25. The nail. The iron pin, sharp- 
ened at the point, to which the tent-cord was fastened. V. 30. Have they not sped ? Or, as 

some translate, " Shall they not speed? " But the same tense is properly rendered as past, in 
the two next preceding clauses ; and I prefer not to change the familiar phraseology of the 
common version. 



JUDGES. Chap. vi. 



because of the Midianites. And the children of Israel cried 
unto Jehovah. 

^ And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto 

s Jehovah on account of the Midianites, that Jehovah sent a 
prophet to the children of Israel, and said to them: Thus 
says Jehovah Grod of Israel. I brought you up from Egypt, 

^ and I brought you forth out of the house of bondage. And 
I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of 
the hand of all that oppressed you, and drove them out from 

^^ before you, and gave you their land. And I said to you : I, 
Jehovah, am your God ; fear not the gods of the Amorites, 
in whose land ye dwell. And ye have not obeyed m}^ voice. 

^1 And there came an angel of Jehovah, and sat under the 
oak which was in Ophrah, that belonged to Joash the Abi- 
ezrite ; and Gideon his son was threshing wheat by the wine- 

12 press, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of Je- 
hovah appeared to him, and said to him : Jehovah is with 

1^ thee, thou mighty man of valor. And Gideon said to him : 
Beseech thee my Lord, if Jehovah be with us, why has all 
this befallen us? And where are all his wonders of which 
our fathers told us, saying: Did not Jehovah bring us up 
from Egypt? And now Jehovah has forsaken us, and given 

^^ us into the grasp of the Midianites. And Jehovah turned to 
him, and said: Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save 
Israel from the grasp of the Midianites. Have not I sent 

1^ thee? And he said to him: Beseech thee my Lord, where- 
with shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is the feeblest 

1^ in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And 
Jehovah said to him : Surely I will be with thee, and thou 

i'^ shalt smite the Midianites as one man. And he said to him : 
If now I have found grace in thy sight, then show me a sign 

1^ that thou talkest with me. Depart not hence, I pray thee, 
until I come to thee, and bring forth my present, and set it 
before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou comest 

1^ again. And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid of the 
goats, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour. The flesh 
he put in the basket, and he put the broth in the pot, and 

63 



Chap. vi. JUDGES. 



20 brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it. And 
the angel of God said to him : Take the flesh and the unleav- 
ened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the 
broth. And he did so. 

21 And the angel of Jehovah put forth the end of the staff 
that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleav- 
ened cakes ; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and con- 
sumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. And the angel 

22 of Jehovah departed out of his sight. And Gideon saw that 
he was an angel of Jehovah. And Gideon said : Alas, 
Lord Jehovah ; for therefore have I seen an angel of Jeho- 

23 vah face to face. And Jehovah said to him : Peace be to 
2^ thee ; fear not, thou shalt not die. And Gideon built an al- 
tar there unto Jehovah ; and he called it Jehovah-shalom. 
Unto this day it is yet at Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites. 

25 And it came to pass on the same night, that Jehovah said 
to him : Take the young bullock, which is thy father's, and 
the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the 
altar of Baal that is thy father's, and cut down the Ashera 

26 that is by it. And build an altar to Jehovah thy God upon 
the top of this rock, with the wood laid in order, and take 
the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood 

2"^ of the Ashera which thou shalt cut down. And Gideon took 
ten men of his servants, and did as Jehovah had said to him. 
And as from fear of his father's house, and of the men of the 
city, he could not do it by day, he did it by night. 

28 And the men of the city rose early in the morning, and 
behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the Ashera was 
cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered 

29 on the altar that was built. And they said one to anothiir : 
Who has done this thing ? And they searched and made in- 
quiry ; and they said : Gideon the son of Joash has done this 

30 thing. And the men of the city said to Joash : Bring out 

V. 22. For thei-efore ; namely, for the reason implied in the despairing exclamation "Alas," 
and plainly indicated in the next verse. See the writer's note on Gen. 16 : 13, 14. 

V. 24. Shalom, peace. Jehovah-shalom, Jehovah gives peace ; alluding to the words, 
*' peace be to thee," in v. 23. 

V. 25. Ashera. See the note on ch. 3 : 7. 

6^ 



JUDGES. Chap. ym. 



thy son, that he may die ; because he has cast down the altar 
of Baal, and because he has cut down the Ashera that was 

31 by it. And Joash said to all that stood by him : Will ye 
strive for Baal ? Or will ye save him ? He that will strive 
for him, let him be put to death after the morrow. If he be 
a god, let him strive for himself, because one has cast down 

32 his altar. And on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying : 
Let Baal strive with him, because he has thrown down his 
altar. 

33 And all the Midianites and the Amalekites, and the sons 
of the east, were gathered together, and went over, and en- 

3^ camped in the valley of Jezreel. And the Spirit of Jehovah 
entered into Gideon. And he blew a trumpet, and Abi-ezer 

3^ was gathered after him. And he sent messengers throughout 
all Manasseh, and he also was gathered after him. And he 
sent messengers to Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Waphtali, 
and they came up to meet them. 

36 And Gideon said to God : If thou wilt save Israel by my 

3^^ hand, as thou hast said ; behold, I lay a fleece of wool in the 
threshing-floor ; if dew be on the fleece only, and dryness on 
all the ground, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel 

?^ by my hand, as thou hast said. And it was so. For he rose 
up early on the morrow, and pressed the fleece together, and 
wrung out the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water. 

5^ And Gideon said to God : Let not thine anger burn against 
me, and I will speak but this once. Let me make trial, I 
pray thee, but this once with the fleece ; let it now be dry 
only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew. 

^^ And God did so that night. And it was dry on the fleece 

only, and there was dew oh all the ground. 
^ And Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, rose up early, and all the 
people that were with him, and encamped by the fountain 
Harod. And the camp of the Midianites was on the north 
^ side of him, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. And Jeho- 
vah said to Gideon: The people that are with thee are too 

v. 32. He called him. Or, he was called. 

65 



Chap. vn. JUDGES. 



many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel 
vaunt themselves against me, saying : My own hand has saved 

2 me. Now then, proclaim in the ears of the people, and say : 
Whosoever is fearful and timid, let him return and go back 
from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people 
twenty and two thousand ; and there remained ten thousand. 

^ And Jehovah said to Grideon : The people are yet too many. 
Bring them down to the water, and I will try them for thee 
there. And it shall be, that of whom I say to thee, this shall 
go with thee, the same shall go with thee ; and of whomso- 
ever I say to thee, this shall not go with thee, the same shall 

^ not go. And he brought the people down to the water. 
And Jehovah said to Grideon : Every one that laps of the 
water with his tongue, as a dog laps, him shalt thou set by 
himself, and also every one that bows down upon his knees 

^ to drink. And the number of them that lapped, with their 
hand to their mouth, were three hundred men ; and all the 
rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink 

■^ water. And Jehovah said to Gideon : By the three hundred 
men that lapped will I save you, and give the Midianites into 
thy hand. And let all the people go, every man to his place. 

^ And the people took provision in their hand, and their trump- 
ets : and he sent all the men of Israel every man to his tent, 
and retained those three hundred men. And the camp of 
Midian was beneath him in the valley. 

^ And it came to pass on the same night, that Jehovah said 
to him : Arise, get thee down into the camp ; for I have given 

^^ it into thy hand. But if thou fearest to go down, go thou 

^^ with Phurah thy servant down to the camp. And thou shalt 
hear what they say ; and afterward shall thy hands be strength- 
ened to go down to the camp. Then went he down, he and 
Phurah his servant, to the outside of the armed men that 

^2 were in the camp. And the Midianites and the Amalekites, 
and all the sons of the east, lay along in the valley like locusts 
for multitude ; and their camels were without number, as the 

12 sand on the sea shore for multitude. And Gideon came ; 
and behold, a man was telling a dream to his fellow. And 



JUDGES. Chap. to. 



he said : Behold, I dreamed a dream ; and, lo, a cake of bar- 
ley bread rolled itself into the camp of Midian, and came to 
the tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the 

^^ tent lay along. And his fellow answered and said : This is 
no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man 
of Israel. God has given Midian, and all the camp into his 
hand. 

^^ And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, 
and the interpretation of it, that he worshipped, and returned 
into the camp of Israel, and said : Arise, for Jehovah has 

^^ given into your hand the camp of Midian. And he divided 
the three hundred men into three companies ; and he put a 
trumpet in every man's hand, and empty pitchers, and lamps 

^^ within the pitchers. And he said to them : Look on me, and 
do likewise ; and, behold, when I come to the outside of the 

1^ camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. When I blow 
with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the 
trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say: For 
Jehovah, and for Gideon. 

^^ And Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, 
came to the outside of the camp at the beginning of the mid- 
dle night-watch ; and they had but just set the watch. And 
they blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers that were 

20 in their hands. And the three companies blew the trumpets, 
and broke the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, 
and the trumpets in their right hands to blow with ; and they 

21 cried : The sword of Jehovah, and of Gideon. And they 
stood every man in his place round about the camp ; and all 

22 the host ran, and cried out, and fled. And the three hun- 
dred blew the trumpets, and Jehovah set every man's sword 
against his fellow, throughout all the host. And the host fled 
to Beth-shittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abel-meho- 

23 lah, by Tabbath. And the men of Israel came together, out 
of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and 
pursued after the Midianites. 



V. 13. The terd. The chief tent in the encampment, that of the chief in command. 

67 



Chap. vin. JUDGES. 



^* And Gideon sent messengers through all mount Ephraim, 
saying : Come down against the Midianites, and take from 
them the waters unto Beth-barah and the Jordan. And all 
the men of Ephraim came together, and took the waters unto 

25 Beth-barah and the Jordan. And they took two princes of 
Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. And they slew Oreb upon the rock 
Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pur- 
sued Midian. And they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb 
to Grideon beyond the Jordan. 

^ And the men of Ephraim said to him : What is this thou 
hast done to us, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest 
to fight with the Midianites ? And they did chide with him 

2 sharply. And he said to them : What have I done now in 
comparison with you ? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim 

^ better than the vintage of Abi-ezer? God has given into 
your hand the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb ; and what 
was I able to do in comparison with you ? And their anger 
abated toward him, when he said that. 

^ And Gideon came to the Jordan and passed over, he and the 
three hundred men that were with him ; faint, and pursuing. 

5 And he said to the men of Succoth : Give, I pray you, loaves 
of bread to the people that follow me ; for they are faint, 
and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of 

^ Midian. And the princes of Succoth said : Are the hands of 
Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand, that we should give 

"^ bread to thine army ? And Gideon said : Therefore when 
Jehovah has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then 
I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness, and 

^ with briars. And he went up thence to Penuel, and spoke 
to them likewise. And the men of Penuel answered him as 

^ the men of Succoth had answered. And he spoke also to 
the men of Penuel, saying : When I come again in peace, I 
will break down this tower. 

10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts 
with them, about fifteen thousand, all that were left of all the 
host of the sons of the east. And the fallen were a hundred 



JUDGES. Chap. ym. 



^^ and twenty thousand men that drew the sword. And Gideon 
went up by the way of the dwellers in tents on the east of 
Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the camp, while the camp 

^2 was secure. And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued 
after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and 
Zalmunna, and put all the camp in fear. 

^^ And Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle, 

^^ from the ascent of Heres. And he caught a young man of 
the men of Succoth, and inquired of him. And he described 
to him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, three- 

^^ score and seventeen men. And he came to the men of Suc- 
coth, and said : Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, wherewith ye 
upbraided me, saying : Are the hands of Zebah and Zal- 
munna now in thy hand, that we should give bread to thy 

1^ men that are weary ? And he took the elders of the city, 
and thorns of the wilderness, and briars, and with them he 

1"^ taught the men of Succoth. And he beat down the tower 
of Penuel, and slew the men of the city. 

^^ And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna : What manner of men 
were they whom ye slew at Tabor ? And they answered : 
As thou art, so were they ; each in form like the children of 

1^ a king. And he said : They were my brothers, the sons of 
my mother. As Jehovah lives, if ye had saved them alive 

20 I would not slay you. And he said to Jether his firstborn : 
Rise up, slay them. But the youth drew not his sword ; for 

2^ he feared, because he was yet a youth. And Zebah and Zal- 
munna said : Rise ihou, and fall upon us ; for as the man is, 
so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and 
Zalmunna. And he took away the crescents that were on 
their camels' necks. 

22 And the men of Israel said to Gideon : Rule thou over us, 
both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also. For thou 

23 hast saved us from the hand of Midian. And Gideon said 
to them : I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over 
you ; Jehovah shall rule over you. 

v. 16. He taught the men of Succoth. Gave them a lesson ; as in the margin of the writer's 
revised version of the Book of Proverbs, and the explanatory note. 

69 



Chap. ix. JUDGES. 



2* And Gideon said to them : I would make a request x)f you ; 

that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. 

(For they had golden earrings ; for they were Ishmaelites). 
2^ And they answered : We will willingly give them. And they 

spread out a mantle, and cast therein every man the earrings 
2^ of his prey. And the weight of the golden earrings, which 

he requested, was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of 

gold ; besides crescents, and ear-drops, and purple garments 

that were on the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that 
2'^ were about their camels' necks. And Gideon made an ephod 

thereof, and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel went 

thither adulterously after it ; and it became a snare to Gideon, 

and to his house. 
2^ And Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and 

they lifted up their heads no more. And the land had rest 

forty years in the days of Gideon. 
2^ And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his 
^^ own house. And Gideon had threescore and ten sons, that 
^^ came forth from his loins ; for he had many wives. And his 

concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, and 
• he called his name Abimelech. 
32 And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and 

was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of 
3^ the Abi-ezrites. And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was 

dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went adul- 
^^ terously after the Baals, and made Baal-berith their god. And 

the children of Israel remembered not Jehovah their God, 

who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies 
^^ on every side. Kor showed they kindness to the house of 

Jerubbaal-Gideon, according to all the goodness which he 

had shown to Israel. 

^ And Abimelech, the son of Jerubbaal, went to Shechem to 
the brothers of his mother, and spoke to them, and to all the 

V. 24. They had golden earrings ; namely, the enemies, from whom the spoils were taken. 
V. 27. Ephod. The high-priest's official garment, assumed by Gideon without warrant, 
wi hdrawing the people from the place selected by Jehovah for his worship, 
v. 33. Baal-henLh ; lord of covenants. 

70 



JUDGES. Chap. ix. 



2 family of the house of his mother's father, saying : Speak, I 
pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem : Which is 
better for you, that all the sons of Jerubbaal, threescore and 
ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? 
^ And remember that I am your bone and your flesh. And the 
brothers of his mother spoke of him in the ears of all the 
men of Shechem all these words. And their heart inclined 
* after Abimelech ; for they said : He is our brother. And 
they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the 
house of Baal-berith. And Abimelech hired therewith vain 
^ and reckless persons, who followed him. And he came to 
his father's house at Ophrah, and slew his brothers, the sons 
of Jerubbaal, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone ; 
and there was left Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, 
^ for he hid himself. And all the men of Shechem came to- 
gether, and all the dwellers in the castle, and went and made 
Abimelech king, by the monument-oak that was in Shechem. 
^ And it was made known to Jotham. And he went, and 
stood on the top of mount Glerizim, and lifted up his voice, 
and cried aloud, and said to them : Hearken to me, ye men 
^ of Shechem, that God may hearken to you. The trees would 
needs go forth to anoint a king over them. And they said to 
^ the olive tree : Reign thou over us. And the olive tree said 
to them : Should I forsake my fatness, wherewith by me they 
^^ honor God and man, and go to wave over the trees ? And 
^^ the trees said to the fig tree : Come thou, reign over us. And 
the fig tree said to them : Should I forsake my sweetness, and 
12 ijiy good fruit, and go to wave over the trees ? And the trees 
^' said to the vine : Come thou, reign over us. And the vine 
said to them : Should I forsake my new wine, which cheers 
^^ god and man, and go to wave over the trees ? And all the 
^^ trees said to the bramble : Come thou, reign over us. And 
the bramble said to the trees : If in truth ye anoint me king 

v. 8. Would ne ds go ; possessed with the idea, that they could not do without a king, and 

must needs get one. The peculiar and expressive form of the Hebrew is overlooked in the 

common English version. 

V. 9. Wherewith in me. Or, [I] in whom. 

V. 13. Vheejs god and man. An idol god is meant. 

71 



Chap. ix. JUDGES. 



' . over you, come, take refuge in my shadow ; and if not, let 
■ fire come out of tlie bramble, and devour the cedars of 

^^ Lebanon. And now, if ye have done truly and uprightly, in 

■ that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well 
with Jerubbaal and with his house, and have done to him ac- 

^■^ cording to the desert of his hands; (for that my father fought 
for you, and cast his life from him, and delivered you out of 

^^ the hand of Midian ; and ye have risen up agahist my father's 
house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten 
persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son 
of his maid-servant, king over the men of Shechem, because 

^^ he is your brother ;) if ye then have dealt truly and uprightly 
with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye 

2^ in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you ; and if not, let 
fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of She- 
chem, and the dwellers in the castle, and let fire come out 
from the men of Shechem, and from the dwellers in the castle, 

21 and devour Abimelech. And Jotham ran away, and fled, 
and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his 
• brother. 

^ And Abimelech reigned three years over Israel. And God 
sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of She- 
chem. And the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with 

2* Abimelech ; that the violence done to the threescore and ten 
sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid, upon 
Abimelech their brother, who slew them, and upon the men 
of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to slay his brothers. 

2^ And the men of Shechem set liers-in-wait for him in the tops 
of the mountains ; and they robbed all that passed by them 
on the way. And it was told Abimelech. 

2® And Gaal, the son of Ebed, came with his brothers, and 
passed over to Shechem. And the men of Shechem con- 

2'^ fided in him. And they went out into the fields, and gath- 
ered their vineyards, and trod the grapes, and held merry 
festivals, and A/ent into the house of their god, and ate and 

V. 17. Cast his life from him. Adventured it, as a thing of no account. 

72 



JUDGES. Chap. k. 



28 drank, and cursed Abimelech. A.nd Gaal, the son of Ebed, 
said : Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should 
serve him? Is not he the son of Jerubbaal, and Zebul his 
officer ? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem ; 

2^ and wherefore should we serve him ? And would that this 
people were under my hand ! Then would I remove Abime- 
lech. And he said to Abimelech : Increase thine army, and 
come out. 

^^ And Zebul the prefect of the city heard the words of Gaal 

21 the son of Ebed, and his anger was kindled. And he sent 
messengers to Abimelech deceitfully, saying : Behold, Gaal 
the son of Ebed and his brothers are come to Shechem ; and, 

22 behold, they are stirring up the city against thee. And now 
rise up by night, thou and the people that are with thee, and 

22 lie in wait in the field. And it shall be, that in the morning, 
at the rising of the sun, thou shalt rise early, and fall upon 
the city. And, behold, he and the people that are with him, 
will come out against thee, and thou mayest do to him as thy 
hand shall find. 

2* And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were him, 
by night, and they lay in wait against Shechem, in four com- 

2^ panics. And Gaal, the son of Ebed, went out, and stood at 
the entrance of the gate of the city. And Abimelech rose up, 

2<5 and the people that were with him, from the ambush. And 
Gaal saw the people ; and he said to Zebul : Behold, there 
come people down from the tops of the mountains. And 
Zebul said to him : The shadow of the mountains thou seest 

2^ as men. And Gaal spoke again and said : See, there come 
people down from the height of the land, and one company 

28 come along by the magicians-oak. And Zebul said to him : 
Where is now thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst : Who is 
Abimelech, that we should serve him ? Is not this the people 
that thou hast despised ? Go forth now, I pray, and fight 

2^ with him. And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, 

*^ and fought with Abimelech. And Abimelech pursued after 
him, and he fled before him. And many fell down slain, 

*i even unto the entrance of the gate. And Abimelech re- 

73 



Chap. ix. JUDGES. 



mained at Arumali. And Zebul thrust out Gaal and his 

*2 brothers, that they should not dwell in Shechem. And it 
came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out into 

*3 the fields ; and it was told to Abimelecli. And he took the 
people, and divided them into three companies, and lay in 
wait in the field. And he looked, and, behold, the people 
coming forth out of the city ; and he rose up against them, 

** and smote them. And Abimelech, and the company that 
was with him, spread out, and stood at the entrance of the 
gate of the city ; and two companies spread out against all 

*^ that were in the fields, and smote them. And Abimelech 
fought against the city all that day ; and he took the city, 
and slew the people that were in it, and destroyed the city, 
and sowed it wdth salt. 

^^ And all the men of the tower of Shechem heard it. And 

^■^ they entered into a hold of the house of the god Berith. And 
it was told Abimelech, that all the men of the tower of She- 

^^ chem were gathered together. And Abimelech went up to 
mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him ; 
and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a 
bough from the trees, and took it up, and laid it on his shoul- 
der, and said to the people that were with him: What ye 

^^ have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done. And 
all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and 
went after Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and set the 
hold on fire over them. And all the men of the tower of 
Shechem also died, about a thousand men and women. 

^^ And Abimelech went to Thebez ; and he encamped against 

^^ Thebez, and took it. And there was a strong tower within 
the city. And all the men and women fled thither, and all 
they of the city, and shut it behind them, and went up to the 

^2 roof of the tower. And Abimelech came to the tower, and 
fought against it. And he went near to the door of the tower, 



V. 46. The god 'Berith ; god of covenants, and therefore they sought asylum there. A 

hoUl. It is not certain what part of the temple is meant. It was a place of refuge (1 Sam. 
13 : 6, "high place"), partly owing to its position, and partly to the sanctity of the temple, 
which Abimelech disregarded. 

74 



JUDGES. Chap. x. 



^^ to burn it with fire. And a certain woman cast a piece of a 
^^ millstone upon Abimelech's head, and broke his skull. And 

he called hastily to the servant that bore his armor, and said 

to him : Draw thy sword, and slay me, that they may not say 

of me : A woman slew him. And his servant thrust him 
^^ throuDfh, and he died. And the men of Israel saw that 

Abimelech was dead ; and they went every man to his place. 
^^ And God requited the evil of Abimelech, which he did to 
^^ his father, in slaying his seventy brothers. And all the evil 

of the men of Shechem did God return upon their heads ; 

and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerub- 

baal. 

1 And after Abimelech there arose to deliver Israel Tola the 
son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar. And he 
dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim. And he judged Israel 
twenty and three years. And he died, and was buried in 
Shamir. 

^ And after him arose Jair, the Gileadite. And he judged 

* Israel twenty and two years. And he had thirty sons that 
rode on thirty young asses, and they had thirty cities. They 
are called Havoth-jair unto this day, which are in the land of 

^ Gilead. And Jair died, and was buried in Camon. 

^ And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of 
Jehovah. And they served the Baals, and the Ashtoreths, 
and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods 
of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the 
gods of the Philistines. And they forsook Jehovah, and 

■^ served him not. * And the anger of Jehovah burned against 
Israel. And he sold them into the hand of the Philistines, 

^ and into the hand of the sons of Ammon. And that year 
they oppressed and harassed the children of Israel ; eighteen 
years, all the children of Israel that were beyond the Jordan 

V. 53. A piece of a millstone. According to some authorities, "an upper millstone." But 
that rendering is doubtful. 

V. 4. Hnvot?i-jair, towns of Jair ; originally named from Jair, the son of Manasseh. Num. 

32 : 41 ; Deut. 3 : 14 ; Josh. 13 : 30 ; 1 K. 4 : 13. V. 6. The Baals and the Ashtoreths. bee 

iiie note oa ch. 2 : llj 13. 

75 



Chap. xi. JUDGES. 



^ in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. And the 
sons of Ammon passed over the Jordan to fight also against 
Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Eph- 
raim. And Israel was sorely distressed. 

^^ And the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah, saying : 
We have sinned against thee, in that we have forsaken our 

^^ God, and have served the Baals. And Jehovah said to the 
children of Israel : Have not I delivered you from the Egyp- 
tians, and from the Amorites, from the sons of Ammon, and 

12 from the Philistines ? And the Zidonians, and the Amalek- 
ites, and the Maonites, oppressed you ; and ye cried to me, 

1^ and I delivered you out of their hand. And ye have for- 
saken me, and have served other gods. Therefore I will de- 

1* liver you no more. Go, and cry unto the gods which ye 
have chosen ; let them deliver you in the time of your distress. 

1^ And the children of Israel said to Jehovah : We have sin- 
ned. Do thou to us according to all that is good in thy sight ; 

1^ only deliver us, we pray thee, this day. And they put away 
the strange gods from among them, and served Jehovah ; and 

1'' his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. And the chil- 
dren of Ammon were summoned together, and encamped in 
Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves, 

1^ and encamped in Mizpeh. And the people, princes of Gilead, 
said one to another : Who is the man that will begin to fight 
against the sons of Ammon? He shall be head of all the 
inhabitants of Gilead. 

1 And Jephthah, the Gileadite, was a strong and heroic man. 
And he was the son of a harlot ; and Gilead had begotten 

2 Jephthah. And the wife of Gilead bore him sons. And 
the sons of the wife grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, 
and said to him : Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house, 

^ for thou art the son of another woman. And Jephthah fled 

from his brothers, and dwelt in the land of Tob ; and vain 

men gathered to Jephthah, and went forth with him. 

* And it came to pass, after a time, that the sons of Ammon 

^ made war with Israel. And so it was, that when the sons 

76 



JUDGES. Chap. XI. 



of Ammon made war with Israel, the elders of Gilead went 
^ to bring Jephthah out of the land of Tob. And they said 
to Jephthah : Come, and be our leader, that we may fight 
■^ against the sons of Ammon. And Jephthah said to the 
elders of Gilead : Did not ye hate me, and drive me out of 
my father's house ? And why are ye come to me now, when 
^ ye are in distress ? And the elders of Gilead said to Jeph- 
thah : Therefore do w^e now turn again to thee, that thou 
mayest go with us, and fight against the sons of Ammon, and 
^ be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. And Jeph- 
thah said to the elders of Gilead : If ye bring me back again 
to fight against the sons of Ammon, and Jehovah gives them 

^^ up before me, shall I be your head? And the elders of 
Gilead said to Jephthah : Jehovah be witness between us, if 

1^ we do not so according to thy word. And Jephthah went 
with the elders of Gilead. And the people set him over 
them for a head and leader. And Jephthah uttered all his 
words before Jehovah in Mizpeh. 

^2 And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the sons of 
Ammon, saying : What hast thou to do with me, that thou 

^^ comest to me, to fight against my land ? And the king of 
the sons of Ammon answered to the messengers of Jephthah : 
Because Israel took aw^ay my land, when they came up out 
of Egypt, from Arnon even unto the Jabbok, and unto the 

^^ Jordan. Now therefore return them again peaceably. And 
Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the sons of 

^^ Ammon. And he said to him : Thus says Jephthah ; Israel 
took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the sons of 

^^ Ammon. For, when they came up out of Egypt, Israel went 
through the wilderness unto the Hed sea, and came to Kadesh. 

^"^ And Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying: Let 
me, I pray thee, pass through thy land ; and the king of 
Edom hearkened not. And he also sent to the king of Moab ; 
and he would not consent. And Israel abode in Kadesh. 

^^ And he went along through the wilderness, and went round 
the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came on the 
east side of the land of Moab. And they encamped on the 

77 



Chap. xi. JUDGES. 



other side of Anion, and came not within the border of 

^^ Moab ; for Arnon was the border of Moab. And Israel sent 

messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king at Hesh- 

bon ] and Israel said to him : Let us pass, I pray thee, 

20 through thy land into my place. And Sihon trusted not 
Israel to pass through his border. And Sihon gathered all 
his people, and they encamped at Jahaz ; and he fought with 

21 Israel. And Jehovah, God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his 
people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them. And 
Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites inhabiting that 

22 land. And they possessed all the country of the Amorites, 
from Arnon unto the Jabbok, and from the wilderness unto 

23 the Jordan. And now Jehovah, God of Israel, has dispos- 
sessed the Amorites before his people Israel ; and shouldest 

2^ thou dispossess him ? Wilt not thou possess that which Che- 
mosh thy god gives thee to possess ? And all that Jehovah, 

25 our God, has given us to possess, we will possess it. And 
now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, 
king of Moab ? Did he at all contend against Israel, or did 

2^ he at all fight against them ? While Israel dwelt in Hesh- 
bon and her daughters, and in Aroer and her daughters, and 
in all the cities that are along by the shores of Arnon, three 
hundred years, wherefore did ye not recover them within 

2"^ that time ? And I have not sinned against thee, but thou 
doest me wrong to war against me. Jehovah, the Judge, 
be judge this day between the children of Israel and the 

28 sons of Ammon. And the king of the sons of Amnion heark- 
ened not to the words of Jephthah, which he sent to him. 

2^ And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Jephthah. And 
he passed over Gilead and Manasseh ; and he passed over 
Mizpeh of Gilead ; and from Mizpeli of Gilead he passed 

30 over to the sons of Amnion. And Jephthah vowed a vow 
unto Jehovah, and said : If thou wilt surely give the sons 

31 of Ammon into my hand ; then it shall be, that whatsoever 
shall go out from the doors of my house, to meet me when I 



v. 26. Her daughters. Sec the note en Josh. 15 : 45. 

78 



JUDGES. Chap. xi. 



return in peace from the sons of Amnion, shall be Jehovah's, 
and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. 

^2 And Jephthah passed over to the sons of Ammon to fight 

^^ against them. And Jehovah gave them into his hand. And 
he smote them from Aroer till thou comest to Minnith, twenty 
cities, and unto Abel-keramim, with a very great slaughter. 
And the sons of Ammon were subdued before the children 
of Israel. 

^* And Jephthah came to Mizpeh to his house ; and, behold, 
his daughter going out to meet him, with timbrels and with 
dances. And she was his only child ; beside her he had 

^5 neither son nor daughter. And so it was, when he saw her, 
that he rent his clothes, and said : Alas, my daughter ! Thou 
hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that 
trouble me. I have opened m}^ mouth unto Jehovah, and I 

^^ cannot go back. And she said to him : My father, if thou 
hast opened thy mouth unto Jehovah, do to me according to 
that which has gone forth from thy mouth ; forasmuch as 
Jehovah has taken vengeance for thee of thy enemies, of the 

^■^ sons of Ammon. And she said to her father : Let this thing 
be done for me ; release me for two months, that I may go 
up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, 

^3 I and my companions. And he said. Go. And he sent her 
away for two months. And she went, she and her compan- 

^^ ions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. And 
it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned 
to her father. And he did to her according to his vow which 
he had vowed. And she knew not a man. And it was a 

*^ custom in Israel, that the daughters of Israel went yearly to 
commemorate the daughter of Jephthah, the Gileadite, four 
days in the year. 



Ch. xi. 34-40. The circumstances here narrated place the fate of Jephthah's daughter in a 
clear light. She was devoted to Jehovah in a life of celibacy. This was in striot accordance 
with the import of Jephthah's vow, that whatevt r met him should be Jehovah's ; and in no 
other way could the vow be fulfilled in the person of a human being. To the Hebrew maiden 
this had an import which is not apparent to us. It meant the sacrifice of what Avas dearest in 
life, and gave to life its highest charm. The language of vs. 37 and 38 shows that it Avas not 
death in her youthful prime, that was the subject of lamentation. They "bewailed her vir- 
ginity" ; cut off as she was, in her maiden prime, from all that gave brightness to the future. 
The brief respite she asked, and her manner of spending it, have no significance in any other 

79 



Chap. xu. JUDGES. 



^ And the men of Ephraim came together, and passed over 
northward, and said to Jephthah : Wherefore didst thou pass 
over to fight against the sons of Ammon, and didst not call 
us to go with thee ? Thy house we will burn over thee with 

2 fire. And Jephthah said to them : I was in great strife, I 
and my people, with the sons of Ammon ; and I cried to you, 

3 and ye delivered me not out of their hand. And I saw that 
ye would not save ; and I put my life in my hand, and passed 
over to the sons of Ammon, and Jehovah gave them into my 
hand. Wherefore then are ye come up to me this day, to 

^ fight against me ? And Jephthah gathered all the men of 
Gilead, and fought with Ephraim. And the men of Gilead 
smote Ephraim ; because they said : Ye Gileadites are fugi- 
tives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, and among the 

^ Manassites. And the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan 
to Ephraim. And it was so, when the fugitives of Ephraim 
said. Let me go over, that the men of Gilead said to him, 

^ Art thou an Ephraimite ? If he said, Nay, they said to him, 
Say now Shibboleth ; and he said Sibboleth, for he could not 
frame to pronounce it right. And they seized him, and slew 
him at the fords of the Jordan. And there fell at that time 

"^ of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand. And Jephthah 
judged Israel six years. And Jephthah the Gileadite died, 
and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead. 

9 And after him Ibzan of Beth-lehem judged Israel. And he 
had thirty sons ; and thirty daughters he let go abroad, and 
brought in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And 

view. She sought solace for her grief in the sympathy of her young companions, among those 
mountain sohtudes, where they might freely share a sorrow, which could not properly be in- 
dulged and find expression in the abodes and company of men. For mourning her untimely 

death, the place was her father's house, in the companionship of her kindred. And she 

kneto not a man has a marked significance, if it is meant that she passed her life in cehbacy ; 
but it has no pertinency on any other supposition. 

" Whatsoever shall go out from the doors of my house," is the true expression r.f the Hebrew 
in the twenty-seventh verse. A person might be meant, or an animal. But Jephthah, it is 
probable, thought only of its worth ; vowing to withhold nothing, however valuable it might 
be. His demeanor, on seeing his daughter, his only child, is explained by whiit has already 

been said; for he knew what it portended, to himsc.lf as well as to her. " To meet" does 

not in itself imply a purpose or intention of meeting, but only a concurrence, accidental or 
intended. 

V. 9. Let go abroad. Gave them in marriage. 

80 



JUDGES. Chap. xui. 



^^ he judged Israel seven years. And Ibzan died, and was 

buried at Beth-lehem. 
11 And after him Elon, the Zebulonite, judged Israel. And 
1'-^ he judged Israel ten years. And Elon the Zebulonite died, 

and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun. 
^^ And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, the Pirathonite, 
1^ judged Israel. And he had forty sons and thirty grandsons, 
that rode on threescore and ten young asses. And he judged 
1^ Israel eight years. And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pira- 
thonite died, and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Eph- 
raim, on the mount of the Amalekites. 

1 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of 
Jehovah. And Jehovah gave them into the hand of the 
Philistines forty years. 

2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the 
Danites, whose name was Manoah ; and his wife was barren, 

^ and did not bear. And an angel of Jehovah appeared to the 
woman, and said to her : Behold now, thou art barren, and 

* bearest not ; but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. And 
now beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong 

^ drink, and eat nothing unclean. For, lo, thou shalt conceive, 
and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head ; for 
the child shall be a Nazarite unto Grod from the womb. And 
he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Phil- 
istines. 

^ And the woman came and told her husband, saying : A 

_ man of God came to me, and his countenance was like the 
countenance of an angel of God, very terrible. And I asked 

"^ him not whence he was, nor did he tell me his name. And 
he said to me : Lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. And 
now drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat nothing unclean ; 
for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God, from the womb to 
the day of his death. 

^ And Manoah prayed to Jehovah, and said : Beseech thee 
Lord, let the man of God whom thou didst send come again 

V. 5. Nazarile unto God. One consecrated to God. 

81 



Chap. xm. JUDGES. 



to us, and teach us what we shall do to the child that shall 

^ be born. And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah. And 

the angel of God came again to the woman : and she was 

sitting in the field, and Manoah her husband was not with 

^^ her. And the woman made haste, and ran, and told her 
husband, and said to him : Behold, the man has appeared 

1^ to me, who came to me on that day. And Manoah arose, 
and went after his wife. And he came to the man, and said 
to him : Art thou the man that spoke to the woman ? And 

^2 he said, I am. And Manoah said : Now when thy words 
come to pass, what shall be the rule for the child, and the 

1^ treatment of him? And the angel of Jehovah said to Ma- 

1^ noah : Of all that I said to the woman let her beware. She 
may not eat of any thing that comes from the vine, nor drink 
wine or strong drink, nor eat any thing unclean. All that I 
commanded her she shall observe. 

^^ And Manoah said to the angel of Jehovah : I pray thee, 
let us detain thee, that we may make ready a kid of the 

^^ goats for thee. And the angel of Jehovah said to Manoah : 
If thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread ; and if thou 
wilt make a burnt offering to Jehovah, thou mayest offer it. 
For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of Jehovah. 

1"^ And Manoah said to the angel of Jehovah : What is thy 
name ? That when thy words come to pass, we may do thee 

^^ honor. And the angel of Jehovah said to him : Why askest 

1^ thou thus after my name, since it is wonderful ? And Ma- 
noah took the kid of the goats and the meat offering, and 
offered it upon the rock unto Jehovah. And he did won- 

20 drously, and Manoah and his wife looked on. For it was so, 
when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that 
the angel of Jehovah ascended in the flame of the altar ; 
and Manoah and his wife looked on, and they fell on their 

21 faces to the ground. And the angel of Jehovah appeared 
no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew 

22 that he was an angel of Jehovah. And Manoah said to his 

23 wife : W^e shall surely die ; for we have seen God. And his 
wife said to him : If Jehovah were pleased to kill us, he 

82 



JUDGES. Chap. xiv. 



would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering 
at our hands ; and he would not have made us see all these 
things, nor at this time have told us such things as these. 

2^ And the woman bore a son ; and she called his name Sam- 
son. And the child grew up, and Jehovah blessed him. 

25 And the Spirit of Jehovah began to move him, in the camp 
of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol. 

1 And Samson went down to Timnath. And he saw a 

2 woman in Timnath, of the daughters of the Philistines. And 
he came up, and told his father and his mother. And he 
said : I have seen a woman in Timnath, of the daughters of 

3 the Philistines ; and now get her for me for a wife. And his 
father and his mother said to him : Is there no woman among 
the daughters of thy brethren, and among all my people, that 
thou goest to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines? 
And Samson said to his father : Get her for me ; for she 

* pleases me well. And his father and his mother knew not 
that it was from Jehovah. For he sought an occasion from 
the Philistines. And at that time the Philistines had dominion 
over Israel. 

5 And Samson went down, and his father and his mother, to 
Timnath. And they came to the vineyards of Timnath ; and, 

^ behold, a young lion roared against him. And the Spirit of 
Jehovah came suddenly upon him, and he rent him as one 
rends a kid, and there was nothing in his hand. And he 

■^ told not his father or his mother what he had done. And 
he went down, and talked with the woman ; and she pleased 
Samson well. 

^ And after a time he returned to take her. And he turned 
aside to see the carcass of the lion ; and, behold, a swarm of 

^ bees in the body of the lion, and honey. And he took thereof 
in his hands, and went on eating as he went, and came to his 
father and his mother. And he gave to them, and they did 

V. 4. For he sought. Samson is meant. 

v. 8. In the body of the lion. In that climate, the powerful heat of the sun soon dries up 
all the moisture in the flesh qf a dead animal. Putrefaction dt>e8 not follow ; and in this case, 
the dried up carcass was occupied by a swarm of bees. 

83 



Chap. xiv. JUDGES. 



eat ; and he told them not that he took the honey out of the 
body of the hon. 

10 And his father went down to the woman. And Samson 

11 made there a feast ; for so used the young men to do. And 
so it was, when they saw him, that they brought thirty com- 
panions to be with him. 

12 And Samson said to them : I will now put forth a riddle 
to you ; if ye shall certainly declare it to me in the seven 
days of the feast, and have found it out, then I will give you 

1^ thirty shirts and thirty changes of raiment. And if ye shall 
not be able to declare it to me, then shall ye give me tliirty 
shirts and thirty changes of raiment. And they said to him : 

1^ Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it. And he said to 
them : Out of the eater came forth food, and out of the 
strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three 

1^ days declare the riddle. And it was so on the seventh day, 
that they said to the wife of Samson : Entice thy husband, that 
he may declare to us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy 
father's house with fire. Have ye called us to take all that 

16 we have ? Is it not so ? And Samson's wife v/ept before 
him, and said : Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not. 
Thou hast put forth a riddle to the sons of my people, and 
to me thou hast not made it known. He said to her : Be- 
hold, I have not made it known to my father nor my mother ; 

1"^ and shall I make it known to thee ? And she wept before 
him the seven days, while their feast lasted. And it was so on 
the seventh day, that he made it known to her, because she 
sorely pressed him. And she made known the riddle to the 

1^ sons of her people. And the men of the city said to him on 
the seventh day, before the sun went down : What is sweeter 
than honey ? And what is stronger than a lion ? And he 
said to them : If ye had not ploughed with my heifer, ye had 
not found out my riddle. 

1^ And the Spirit of Jehovah came suddenly upon him ; and 
he went dow-n to Ashkelon, and smote thirty men of them, 
and took their spoil ; and he gave the changes of raiment to 
them that made known the riddle. And his anger was 

84 



JUDGES. Chap. xv. 



20 kindled, and he went up to his father's house. And Samson's 
wife was given to his companion, whom he had made his 
friend. 

^ And it came to pass after some days, in the time of wheat 
harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid of the goats. 
And he said : Let me go into the chamber to m}^ wife. And 

2 her father would not suffer him to go in. And her father 
said : I thought thou didst utterly hate her, and I gave her 
to thy friend. Is not her younger sister fairer than she? Let 
her be thine, I pray thee, instead of her. 

^ And Samson said to them : I am this time free of blame 

* from the Philistines, if I do them an evil. And Samson went 
and caught three hundred foxes. And he took torches, and 
turned tail to tail, and put a torch in the midst between the 

^ two tails. And he set fire to the torches, and let them go 
into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up 
both the sheaves, and also the standing grain, and the vine- 

^ yards and olive-yards. And the Philistines said : Who has 
done this ? And they said : Samson, the son in law of the 
Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his 
friend. And the Philistines came up, and burned her and 

■^ her father with fire. And Samson said to them : If ye do 
thus, I will surely be avenged on you, and after that I will 

^ cease. And he smote them leg on thigh, with a great slaugh- 
ter. And he went down, and abode in the cleft of the rock 
Etam. 

^ And the Philistines went up, and encamped in Judah, and 
^0 they spread themselves in Lehi. And the men of Judah 
said : Why are ye come up against us ? And they said : To 
bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he has done 
^^ to us. And three thousand men of Judah went down to the 
cleft of the rock Etam. And they said to Samson : Knowest 
thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us ? And what 
is this that thou hast done to us ? And he said to them : As 

V. 4. Foxes. Or jackals. V. 7. After that I will cease. And will not rest before, is the 

meaning. V. 8. Leg on tldgh; piled confusedly one upon another. Compare in v. 16, "a 

heap, two heaps." 

85 



Chap. xvi. JUDGES. 



^2 they did to me, so have I done to them. And they said to 
him : We are come down to bind thee, that we may dehver 
thee into the hand of the Phihstines. And Samson said to 
them: Swear to me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves. 

^^ And they said to him : No, but we will bind thee, and give 
thee into their hand ; and we will not kill thee. And they 
bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the 
rock. 

1* He was come to Lehi, and the Philistines shouted toward 
him. And the Spirit of Jehovah came suddenly upon him, 
and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that 
was burned with fire, and his bands melted from his hands. 

^^ And he found a new jaw-bone of an ass ; and he put forth his 
hand and took it, and smote a thousand men therewith. And 
Samson said : — 

16 With the jaw-bone of an ass, 

A heap, two heaps ; 
With the jaw-bone of an ass I smote 
A thousand men. 

1"^ And it was so, when he had made an end of speaking, that 
he cast away the jaw-bone out of his hand ; and he called 
that place Ramath-lehi. 

1^ And he was sore athirst. And he called on Jehovah, and 
said : Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand 
of thy servant ; and now shall I die of thirst, and fall into 

1^ the hand of the uncircumcised ? And God clave the hollow 
that was in Lehi, and there came out water therefrom. And 
he drank, and his spirit came again, and he revived. There- 
fore he called its name En-hakkore, which is in Lehi unto 

20 this day. And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines 
twenty years. 

1 And Samson went to Gaza. And he saw there a harlot, 

2 and came in unto her. It was told the Gazites, Samson is 

V. 16. A heap, two heaps means, in the Hebrew idiom, any nnmber of heaps V. 17. 

Ttanxath-lehi ; jaw-bone height, from the resemblance of its tooth-Uke ridges. V. 19. The 

hollow. A depression in the rock, similar in shape to the household mortar, for which the 

same Hebrew verb is used in Prov. 27 : 22. En-hakkon; Invocation spring ; fountain 

where one invoked Jehovah. 

V. 1. Came in unlo her ; into her house as a lodging-place for the night. Compare Josh. 
2 : 1-3. 

e6 



JUDGES. Chap. xvi. 



come hither. And they encompassed him, and lay in wait 
for him all night at the gate of the city. And they kept 
quiet all the night, saying : At the morning light we shall 

3 kill him. And Samson lay till midnight. And he arose at 
midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the city gate, and 
the two posts, and pulled them up with the bar, and laid 
them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the 
mountain that is before Hebron. 

* And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in 

^ the valley of Sorek ; and her name was Delilah. And the 
lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her : En- 
tice him, and see wherein is his great strength, and how we 
may prevail against him and bind him, to subdue him. And 
we will each one give thee eleven hundred pieces of silver. 

^ And Delilah said to Samson : Tell me, I pray thee, where- 
in is thy great strength, and wherewith thou mightest be 

■^ bound to subdue thee. And Samson said to her : If they 
bind me with seven fresh cords that have not been dried, 

^ then shall I be weak, and be as any other man. And the 
lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords 
which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 

' And men lying in wait sat in her chamber. And she said to 
him : Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he rent the 
cords, as a thread of tow is rent when it touches the fire. 

^^ And his strength was not known. And Delilah said to Sam- 
son : Behold, thou hast deceived me, and told me lies. Now 
tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound, 

^^ And he said to her : If they bind me fast with new ropes, 
with which no work has been done, then shall I be weak, 

^2 and be as any other man. And Delilah took new ropes, and 
bound him therewith. And she said to him : Philistines are 
upon thee, Samson. And men lying in wait sat in the cham- 

^^ ber. And he broke them off his arms like a thread. And 
Delilah said to Samson : Hitherto thou hast deceived me, and 
told me lies. Tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. 



Y. 9. Was not known. Its secret was not discovered. 

87 



Chap. xvi. JUDGES. 



And he said to her : If thou weavest the seven locks of my 
^* head with the warp. And she fastened them with the pin. 

And she said to him : Phihstines are upon thee, Samson. 

And he awaked out of his sleep, and tore away the woof-pin 

and the warp. 
^^ And she said to him : How canst thou say, I love thee, 

when thy heart is not with me ? Thou hast deceived me 

these three times, and hast not told me wherein is thy great 
^^ strength. And it came to pass, when she urged him from 

day to day with her words, and pressed him, and his soul 
^"^ was vexed unto death, that he told her all his heart. And 

he said to her : There has not come a razor upon my head ; 

for I am a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb. If I 

be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall be 

weak, and be as any other man. 
^^ And Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart. And 

she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying : Come 

up this once, for he has told me all his heart. And the lords 

of the Philistines came up to her ; and they brought up the 
1^ money in their hand. And she let him sleep on her knees. 

And she called the man, and made him shave off the seven 

locks of his head. And she began to afflict him ; and his 

20 strength departed from him. And she said : Philistines are 
upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and 
said : I will go out as at other times, and shake myself loose. 

21 And he knew not that Jehovah had departed from him. And 
the Philistines laid hold of him, and dug out his eyes, and 
brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with double fet- 

22 ters of brass. And he ground in the prison house. And 
the hair of his head began to grow again, after it was shorn. 

23 And the lords of the Philistines assembled together, to 
offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and for a festival. 
And tjiey said : Our god has delivered Samson our enemy 

2* into our hand. And the people saw him, and they praised 
their god. For they said : Our god has given into our hand 



v. H. The pin ; which fastened down the woof. V. 17. ^'azariie. See ch. 13 : 5. 

V. 19. The man; who was lying in wait, vs. 9, 12. 

88 



JUDGES. Chap, xvil 



our enemy, and him that laid waste our land, and who slew 

25 many of us. And it came to pass, when their hearts were 
merry, that they said : Call Samson, that he may make us 
sport. And they called Samson out of the prison house ; and 
he made them sport. And they set him between the pillars. 

2^ And Samson said to the lad that had hold of his hand : Suf- 
fer me that I may feel the pillars whereon the house stands, 

2"^ that I may lean upon them. And the house was full of men 
and women ; and all the lords of the Philistines were there ; 
and on the roof were about three thousand men and women, 

28 that looked on while Samson made sport. And Samson called 
to Jehovah, and said : Lord Jehovah, remember me I pray 
thee, and strengthen me I pray thee, only this once, God, 
that I may be at once avenged on the Philistines for my two 

2^ eyes. And Samson clasped the two middle pillars on which 
the house stood, and on which it was borne up, the one with 

^^ his right hand, and the other with his left. And Samson 
said : Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed him- 
self mightily ; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon 
all the people that were therein. And the dead which he 
slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his 

^1 life. And his brothers and all his father's house went down, 
and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between 
Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. 
And he judged Israel twenty years. 

^ And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was 

2 Micah. And he said to his mother : The eleven hundred 

pieces of silver that were taken from thee, and thou didst 

invoke a curse and saidst it also in my ears, behold the silver 

is with me ; I took it. And his mother said : Blessed be thou 

V. 25. May make us sport ; that is, may be sport for us. The history of the Judges 

closes with this chapter. The struggle between the true and false religions was necessarily, 
for the time, a conflict of power. See, for example, 16 : 23, 24. An avowed trust in Jehovah, 
as the Supreme God and source of all power, was the required test of his representative, asifle 
from all personal qualities. It is this inspired faith in Jehovah that is commended in Heb. 

11 : 32. The book closes with the account of two remarkable eventg of that unsettled 

period; the introduction of image worship under the name of Jehovah into the northern 
tribe of Dan, chs. xvii,, xviii., and the destructive war with the tribe of Benjamin, chs. 
xix.— xxi. 

89 



Chap, xviii. JUDGES. 



3 of Jehovah, my son. And he restored the eleven hundred 
pieces of silver to his mother. And his mother said : I have 
consecrated the silver to Jehovah, from my hand for my son 
to make a graven image and a molten image. Now therefore 

^ I will return it to thee. And he gave the money back to his 
mother. And his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, 
and gave them to the founder. And he made thereof a 
graven image and a molten image ; and they were in the 

^ house of Micah. And the man Micah had a house of gods. 
And he made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one 
of his sons, and he became his priest. 

^ In those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did 

■^ that which was right in his own eyes. And there was a 
young man of Beth-lehem-judah of the family of Judah ; and 

^ he was a Levite, and he sojourned there. And the man de- 
parted from the city, from Beth-lehem-judah, to sojourn 
where he might find a place. And he came to mount Eph- 

^ raim, to the house of Micah, as he journeyed. And Micah 
said to him : Whence comest thou ? And he said to him : I 
am a Levite of Beth-lehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where 

^^ I may find a place. And Micah said to him : Abide with me, 
and be to me a father and a priest and I will give thee ten 
pieces of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy 

1^ victuals. And the Levite went. And the Levite was con- 
tent to abide with the man ; and the young man was to him 

^^ as one of his sons. And Micah consecrated the Levite ; and 
the young man became his priest' and was in the house of 

1^ Micah. And Micah said : Now know I that Jehovah will do 
me good since I have the Levite for a priest. 

1 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those 
days the tribe of the Danites sought for them an inheritance 
to dwell in ; for unto that day no inheritance had fallen to 

2 them among the tribes of Israel. And the children of Dan 

V. 5. Teraphim.; small images, kept as domestic idols, or household gods. See the writer's 

note on Gen. 31 : 19. Consecrated ; liier&Wy,, filled the hand of . To fill the hand means to 

give it full employment, to the exclusion of all else. Hence to fill the hand of one means, to 
invest him with the priestly office, to consecrate liim to it ; as in Ex. 28 : 41 ; 29 : 9. 

90 



JUDGES. Chap. xyih. 



sent of their family five men out of their number, men of 
valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and 
to search it. And they said to them : Go, search the land. 
And they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and 

^ they lodged there. They were by the house of Micah, and 
they knew the voice of the young man the Levite. And 
they turned in thither, and said to him : Who has brought thee 
hither ? And what doest thou in this place ? And what hast 

^ thou here ? And he said to them : Thus and thus has Micah 

^ done to me, and has hired me, and I am his priest. And 
they said to him : Ask of God, we pray thee, that we may 
know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous. 

^ And the priest said to them : Go in peace ; before Jehovah 
is your way wherein ye go. 

■^ And the five men departed, and came to Laish. And they 
saw the people that were therein, dwelling carelessly after 
the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure, and none 
having power to do aught of harm in the land ; and they 
were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any 

^ man. And they came to their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol. 

^ And their brethren said to them : What say ye ? And they 
said : Arise, and let us go up against them. For we have 
seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And are ye still ? 

^^ Be not slothful to go, to enter in to possess the land. When 
ye go in ye will come to a people secure, and the land is 
broad on all sides ; for God has given it into your hands, a 
place where there is no want of any thing that is in the 
earth. 

1^ And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, 
out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men equipped 

^2 with weapons of war. And they went up, and encamped in 
Kirjath-jearim, in Judah. Therefore they have called that 
place Mahaneh-Dan unto this day. Behold, it is back of Kir- 

^^ jath-jearim. And they passed on thence to mount Ephraim, 
and came to the house of Micah. 

V. 6. Before Jehovah ; that is, acceptable to him. V. 12. Mahaneh-Dan : or, camp of 

Dau. 

91 



Chap. xvm. JUDGES. 



^^ And the five men that went to spy out the land of Laish, 
answered and said to their brethren : Do ye know that there 
is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven im- 
age, and a molten image ? And now consider what ye have 

^^ to do. And they turned thither, and came to the house of 
the young man the Levite, the house of Micah, and asked 

^^ him of his welfare. And the six hundred men equipped with 
their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood 

^' at the entrance of the gate. And the five men that went to 
spy out the land went up, came in thither, took the graven 
image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten im- 
age ; and the priest stood at the entrance of the gate, and 
the six hundred men that were equipped with weapons of 

^^ war. And these came into the house of Micah, and took the 
graven image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten 

^^ image. And the priest said to them : What do ye ? And 
they said to him : Hold thy peace, lay thy hand upon thy 
mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. 
Is it better for thee to be a priest to the house of one man, 
or that thou be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel ? 

20 And the priest's heart was glad ; and he took the ephod, and 
the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst 

21 of the people. And they turned and departed ; and they put 
the little ones and the cattle and the goods before them. 

22 They were far from the house of Micah, when the men 
that were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered 

23 together, and overtook the children of Dan. And they 
called to the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, 
and said to Micah : What meanest thou by this assemblage ? 

2* And he said : Ye have taken away my gods which I made, 
and the priest, and are gone away. And what have I more? 
And what is this that ye say to me. What meanest thou ? 

25 And the children of Dan said to him : Let not thy voice be 
heard among us, lest men of fierce spirit fall upon you, and 

26 thou lose thy life, and the lives of thy household. And the 
children of Dan went their way. And Micah saw that they 
were too strong for him, and he turned and went back to his 

92 



JUDGES. Chap. xix. 



2^ house. And they took what Micah had made, and the priest 
whom he had. And they came upon Laish, upon a people 
that were quiet and secure ; and they smote them with the 

28 edge of the sword, and burned the city with fire. And there 
was no dehverer ; for it was far from Zidon, and they had no 
business with any man. And it was in the valley that [ex- 
tends] to Beth-rehob. And they built a city, and dwelt 

2^ therein. And they called the name of the city Dan, after 
the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel. But 
the name of the city was Laish at the first. 

^^ And the children of Dan set up the graven image. And 
Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and 
his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day 

^^ of the captivity of the land. And they set up for themselves 
Micah's graven image which he made, all the days that the 
house of God was in Shiloh. 



And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king 
in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the 
sides of mount Ephraim ; and he took to him a concubine 
out of Beth-lehem-judah. And his concubine played the 
harlot against him, and went away from him to her father's 
house, to Beth-lehem-judah, and was there four months' time. 
And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly 
to her, to bring her back. And his servant was with him, 
and a pair of asses. And she brought him into her father's 
house. And the father of the damsel saw him, and rejoiced 
to meet him. And his father in law, the damsel's father, 
constrained him, and he abode with him three days. And 
they ate and drank, and lodged there. 

And it came to pass on the fourth day, that they arose early 
in the morning, and he rose up to depart. And the damsel's 
father said to his son in law : Strengthen thy heart with a 
morsel of bread, and after that thou mayest go. And they 
sat down, and ate and drank both of them together. And 



V. 1. Sides of mount Ephraim. Or, recesses of mount Ephraim. He was a roving Levite, 
dwelling in his tent (v. 9) wherever he could best find employment and a livelihood. 

93 



Chap. xix. JUDGES. 



the damsel's father said to the man : Be content, I pray thee, 

^ and tarry all night, and let thy heart be merry. And the 
man rose up to depart, and his father in law urged him, and 

^ he lodged there again. And he arose early in the morning 
on the fifth day to depart. And the damsel's Mher said : 
Strengthen thy heart, I pray thee. And they delayed till the 

^ declining day ; and they ate, both of them. And the man 
rose up to depart, he and his concubine and his servant. And 
his father in law, the damsel's father, said to him : Behold, 
now the day draws toward evening ; I pray you tarry all 
night. Behold, the day grows to an end ; lodge here, that 
thy heart may be merry ; and to morrow be early on your 

1^ way, that thou mayest go to thy tent. And the man would 
not tarry that night. And he rose up and went, and came 
over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem. And with him was 
a pair of asses saddled ; and his concubine was with him. 

^^ When they were by Jebus the day was far spent. And the 
servant said to his master : Come, I pray thee, and let us 

^2 turn aside to this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it. And 
his master said to him : We will not turn aside into a city of 
strangers, who are not of the children of Israel. We will 

^^ pass over unto Gibeah. And he said to his servant : Come, 
and we will draw near to one of the places, and lodge in 

^^ Gibeah, or in Ramah. And they passed ' on and went their 
way. And the sun went down upon them by Gibeah, which 

^^ belonged to Benjamin. And they turned aside thither to go 
in, to lodge in Gibeah. And he went in, and sat down in a 
street of the city. And there was no man that took them 
into the house to lodge. 

^^ And, behold, an old man came out of the field from his 
work, at even. And he was of mount Ephraim, and he so- 
journed in Gibeah. And the men of the place were Benjam- 

^^ ites. And he raised his eyes and saw the wayfaring man in 
the street of the city. And the old man said : Whither goest 

^^ thou ? And whence comest thou ? And he said to him : 
We are passmg from Beth-lehem-judah to the sides of mount 
Ephraim. I am from thence, and I went to Beth-lehem- 

9i 



JUDGES. Chap. xix. 



judah. And I attend on the house of Jehovah ; and there 
^^ is no man that receives me to his house. Yet there is both 
straw and provender for our asses ; and there is also bread 
and wine for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man 
who is with thy servant. There is no want of any thing. 
2^ And the old man said : Peace be to thee. Only let all thy 
2^ wants be upon me. Only lodge not in the street. And he 
brought him to his house. And he gave provender to the 
asses ; and they washed their feet, and ate and drank. 
22 They were making their hearts merry, and behold, men of 
the city, certain lawless men, beset the house round about, 
beating on the door. And they cpoke to the master of the 
house, the old man, saying : Bring out the man that came 
2^ into th}^ house, that we may know him. And the man, the 
master of the house, went out to them, and said to them : 
Nay, my brethren, I pray you, do not so wickedly ; seeing 
21 that this man is come into my house, do not this folly. Be- 
hold, my daughter the maiden, and his concubine ; them I will 
bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what 
seems good to you. But to this man do not so vile a thing. 

25 And the men would not hearken to him. And the man laid 
hold of his concubine, and brought her out to them on the 
street. And they knew her, and abused her all the night 
until the morning. And at the dawning of the day, they let 

26 i^Q^^ gQ^ ^j^(] ii^Q woman came at the approach of dawn, and 
fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, 

2"^ till it was light. And her lord rose up in the morning, and 
opened the doors of the house, and went out to go on his 
way. And, behold, the woman, his concubine, fallen down 
at the door of the house, and her hands on the threshold. 

2^ And he said to her : Rise up, and let us go. And none an- 
swered. And the man took her upon the ass, and rose up, 
and went to his place. 

2^ And he came into his house. And he took a knife, and 



V. 18. / attend on the house of Jehovah. Literally, " I walk the house of Jehovah," as a 
servant of the sanctuary. Compare Pa. 134; the customary charge of the one who set the 
night-watch, and thfir parting blessing to him. 

95 



Chap. xx. JUDGES. 



laid hold of his concubine, and divided lier by her bones into 
^^ twelve pieces, and sent her into all the border of Israel. And 
it was so, that all who saw it said : There was no such deed 
done nor seen, from the day the children of Israel came up 
out of the land of Egypt unto this day. Consider of it, take 
counsel, and speak. 

^ And all the children of Israel went out, and the congrega- 
tion was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to 
Beer-sheba, with the. land of Grilead, to Jehovah at Mizpeh. 

2 And the chief men of all the people, of all the tribes of Is- 
rael, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of 
God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew the sword. 

^ And the children of Benjamin heard that the children of 
Israel had gone up to Mizpeh. And the children of Israel 

^ said : Tell us, how was this wickedness ? And the Levite, 
the husband of the woman that was killed, answered and 
said : I came to Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my 

^ concubine, to lodge. And men of Gibeah rose up against 
me, and beset the house round about against me by night. 
Me they thought to slay ; and my concubine they forced, that 

^ she died. And I laid hold of my concubine, and cut her in 
pieces, and sent her into all the country of the inheritance of 
Israel. For they have committed wickedness and folly in 

'* Israel. Behold, ye are all children of Israel ; give here word 
and counsel for yourselves. 

^ And all the people arose as one man, saying : We will not 

^ one go to his tent, nor any one turn into his house. And 
now this is the thing that we will do to Gibeah, — go up by 

^^ lot against it ; and we will take ten men of a hundred of all 
the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thou- 
sand of ten thousand, to bring provisions for the people ; that 
they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, accord- 

^^ ing to all the folly that it has wrought in Israel. And all the 
men of Israel were gathered to the city, united as one man. 

^2 And the. tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribes of 
Benjamin, saying: What evil is this that is done among 3^ou? 

£6 



JUDGES. Chap. xx. 



1^ And now deliver up the men, the lawless men that are in 
Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil 
from Israel. And the children of Benjamin would not hearken 

^* to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel. And the 
children of Benjamin were gathered together out of the cities 
unto Gibeah, to go out to the battle with the children of Is- 

^^ rael. And the children of Benjamin were mustered in that 
day out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew 
the sword ; besides, the inhabitants of Gibeah were mustered 

^^ seven hundred chosen men. Among all this people were 
seven hundred chosen men, lefthanded ; every one could 

^^ sling a stone to a hair, and not miss. And of the men of 
Israel, besides Benjamin, were mustered four hundred thou- 
sand that drew the sword ; all these were men of war. 

^^ And they arose, and went up to Beth-el, and asked of 
God. And the children of Israel said : Who shall first go 
up for us to the battle with the children of Benjamin? And 

^^ Jehovah said: Judah shall go up first. And the children 
of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against 

20 Gibeah. And the men of Israel went out to the battle with 
Benjamin. And the men of Israel put themselves in battle 

21 array against them ?.t Gibeah. And the children of Benja- 
min came forth out of Gibeah ; and on that day they cast 
down to the ground of the Israelites twenty and two thousand 

22 men. And the people, the men of Israel, encouraged them- 
selves ; and they again set the battle in array, in the place 

2^ where they arrayed themselves on the first day. And the 
children of Israel went up and wept before Jehovah until 
the evening. And they asked of Jehovah, saying : Shall I 
go again to battle with the children of Benjamin my brother? 

2^ And Jehovah said : Go up against him. And the children 
of Israel came near to the children of Benjamin the second 

2^ day. And Benjamin went forth to meet them out of Gibeah 
the second day. And again they cast down to the ground 
of the children of Israel eighteen thousand men. All these 
drew the sword. 

26 And all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, 

y7 



Chap. xx. JUDGES. 



and came to Beth-el. And they wept, and sat there before Je- 
hovah, and fasted that day until the evenmg ; and they offered 

2"^ burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah. And the 
children of Israel asked of Jehovah, (for the ark of the cove- 

28 nant of God was there in those days, and Phinehas the son 
of Eleazar the son of Aaron stood before it in those days), 
sa3dng : Shall I yet again go out to battle with the children 
of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease ? And Jehovah 
said : Go up ; for to-morrow I will give him into thy hand. 

30 And Israel set men in ambush round about Gibeah. And 
the children of Israel went up against the children of Benja- 
min on the third day; and they put themselves in array 

^^ against Gibeah, as at other times. And the children of Ben- 
jamin went out against the people, and were drawn away 
from the city ; and they began to smite some of the people 
dead as at other times, in the highways of which one goes 
up to Beth-el and the other to Gibeah in the field, about 

^2 thirty men of Israel. And the children of Benjamin said : 
They are smitten before us, as at the first. And the chil- 
dren of Israel said : Let us flee, and draw them from the 

3^ city to the highways. And all the men of Israel rose up out 
of their place, and put themselves in array at Baal-tamar ; 
and the ambush of Israel rushed forth from its place, from 

3^ the plain of Geba. And there came against Gibeah ten 
thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was 
hard ; and they knew not that the evil was near upon them. 

35 And Jehovah smote Benjamin before Israel. And the chil- 
dren of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty 
and five thousand and a hundred men ; all these drew the 

36 sword. And the children of Benjamin saw that they were 
smitten ; for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, 
because they trusted to the ambush which they had set against 

3^ Gibeah. And the ambush hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah. 

And the ambush drew onward, and smote all the city with 
38 the edge of the sword. And the appointed signal between 

the men of Israel and the ambush was, that they should make 
3^ a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city. And when 

98 



JUDGES. Chap. xxi. 



the men of Israel turned back in the battle, Benjamm began 
to smite dead of the men of Israel about thirty persons ; for 
they said : Surely he is wholly smitten down before us, as in 

^^ the first battle. And the cloud began to rise up out of the 
city, a column of smoke ; and the Benjamites looked behind 
them, and behold, the whole city went up [in smoke] to 

^^ heaven. And when the men of Israel turned again, the men 
of Benjamin were confounded ; for they saw that the evil 

^2 was near upon them. And they turned back before the men 
of Israel to the way of the wilderness ; and the battle over- 
took them ; and them that came out of the cities they de- 

^^ stroyed in the midst of them. And they surrounded the 
Benjamites, chased them, trod them down with ease unto the 

^^ front of Gibeah toward the sunrising. And there fell of 
Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of 

^^ valor. And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto 
the rock Rimmon. And they smote of them for a gleaning 
in the highways five thousand men ; and they pursued hard 
after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of 

^^ them. And all that fell that day of Benjamin were twenty 
and five thousand men that drew the sword ; all these were 

^^ men of valor. And six hundred men turned and fled to the 
wilderness to the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rim- 

^s mon four months. And the men of Israel turned again upon 
the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of 
the sword, as well the men of the cities, as the cattle, and 
all that came to hand. Also all the cities that they came to 
they set on fire. 

1 Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpeh, saying : There 
shall none of us give his daughter to Benjamin for a wife. 

2 And the people came to Beth-el, and sat there till the evening 
before God ; and they lifted up their voice, and wept bitterly. 

3 And they said : Jehovah, God of Israel, why is this come 
to pass in Israel, that there should be to-day one tribe lack- 

* ing in Israel ? And it came to pass on. the morrow, that the 
people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt- 

99 



Chap. xxi. JUDGES. 



^ offerings and peace-offerings. And the children of Israel 
said : Who is there that came not up in the congregation of 
all the tribes of Israel unto Jehovah ? For they had taken 
the great oath concerning him that came not up to Jehovah 
^ at Mizpeh, saying : He shall surely be put to death. And 
the children of Israel had compassion for Benjamin their 
brother, and said : There is one tribe cut off from Israel this 
■^ day. What shall we do for wives for them that remain, see- 
ing that we have sworn by Jehovah, that we will not give 
them of our daughters for wives ? 
^ And they said : What one is there of the tribes of Israel 
that came not up to Jehovah at Mizpeh ? And, behold, there 
came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly. 
^ For the people were mustered, and, behold, none of the in- 
^^ habitants of Jabesh-gilead were there. And the congrega- 
tion sent thither twelve thousand men, valiant men, and 
commanded them, saying : Go, and smite the inhabitants of 
Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women 
^^ and the children. And this is the thing that ye shall do ; ye 
shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that has 
^^ lain with man. And they found among the inhabitants of 
Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, that had not lain 
with man. And they brought them to the camp to Shiloh, 
^^ which is in the land of Canaan. And the whole congrega- 
tion sent, and spoke to the children of Benjamin that were in 
^* the rock Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them. And Ben- 
jamin returned at that time ; and they gave them wives whom 
they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead ; and 
^^ yet so they sufficed them not. And the people had compas- 
sion for Benjamin, because Jehovah had made a breach in 
the tribes of Israel. 
^^ And the elders of the congregation said : What shall we do 
for wives for them that are left, seeing that the women are 
^^ destroyed out of Benjamin? And they said : The inheritance 
of the escaped [pertains] to Benjamin, and a tribe shall not 

v. 17. The escaped had not forfeited their own inheritance ; and as that pertained to Ben- 
jamin as a tribe, the perpetuity of their families prevented the extinction of the tribe. 

100 



JUDGES. Chap. xxi. 



^^ be blotted out of Israel. But we may not give them wives 
of our daughters ; for the children of Israel have sworn, 

^^ saying: Cursed be he that gives a wife to Benjamin. And 
they said : Behold, there is yearly a feast of Jehovah in Shi- 
IqIi, which is on the north side of Beth-el, on the east of the 
highway that goes up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the 

2^ south of Lebonah. And they commanded the children of 

21 BenjamiD, saying: Go, and lie in wait in the vineyards, and 
see ; and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to 
dance in the dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and 
catch for you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, 

22 and go to the land of Benjamin. And it shall be, when their 
fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, that we will 
say to them : Kindly grant them to us ; because we took not 
for each man his wife in the war. For ye did not give to 

23 them ; at this time ye would be guilty. And the children of 
Benjamin did so ; and they bore away wives according to their 
number, of them that danced, whom they caught. And they 
went and returned to their inheritance, and built the cities, 

2* and dwelt in them. And the children of Israel departed 
thence at that time, each to his tribe and to his family ; and 

2^ they went out thence every man to his inheritance. In those 
days there was no king in Israel. Every man did that which 
was right in his own eyes. 

The necessity of exterminating every vestige of idolatry, and all its contaminating influ- 
ences in domestic and social life (see the remarks on Josh. 6 : 17), is clearly shown in the 
records of the Judges. It is further illustrated in the five appended chapters, recording 
Bome of the more eventful occm-rences of that period. 

101 



THE BOOK OF RUTH. 

1 And it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, 
that there was a famine in the land. And a man of Beth- 
lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and 

2 his wife, and his two sons. And the name of the man w^as 
Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of 
his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth-lehem- 
judah. And they came to the country of Moab, and con- 
tinued there. 

^ And Elimelech Naomi's husband died ; and she was left, 

^ and her two sons. And they took to them wives of the wo- 
men of Moab. The name of the one was Orpah, and the 
name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten 

^ years. And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them ; 
and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband. 

^ And she arose with her daughters-in-law, and returned 
from the country of Moab. For she heard in the country 
of Moab that Jehovah had visited his people to give them 

"^ bread. And she went forth from the place where she was, 
and her two daughters-in-law with her ; and they went on 

^ the way to return to the land of Judah. And Naomi said 
to her two daughters-in-law : Go, return each to her mother's 
house. Jehovah deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with 

^ the dead, and with me. Jehovah grant you that ye may find 
rest, each in the house of her husband. And she kissed 

^^ them ; and they lifted up their voice, and wept. And they 

The book of Ruth is an interesting and instructive picture of domestic and social life, and 
of local manners, at a period of national prosperity under the rule of the Judges. Nothing 
more definite is known ot the date of the occurrences narrated. That the book was written 
long after those occurrences is shown by the statement in ch. 4 : 7. The name of a converted 
gentile among the ancestors of our Lord (Mat, 1 : 5), shows that he was born, not of a single 
people, but of our race. 

102 



EUTH. Ch.o>. n. 



said to her : Surely we will return with thee to thy people. 

^^ And Naomi said : Return, my daughters. Why will ye go 
with me ? Have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be 

^2 your husbands ? Return, my daughters, go ; for I am too 
old to have a husband. If I should say, I have hope, yea if I 
should have a husband this night, should even bear sons; 

1^ would ye then wait till they were grown ? Would ye then 
withhold yourselves from having husbands ? Nay, my daugh- 
ters ; for to me it is far more bitter than to you ; for the hand 

^^ of Jehovah is gone out against me. And they lifted up their 
voice, and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in- 

^^ law : but Ruth clave to her. And she said : Behold, thy 
sister-in-law is gone back to her people, and to her gods ; re- 

1^ turn thou after thy sister-in-law. And Ruth said : Entreat 
me not to leave thee, to return from following after thee. 
For whither thou goest, I will go ; and where thou lodgest, I 
will lodge ; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my 

1"^ God ; where thou diest, I will die, and there will I be buried. 
Jehovah do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part 

1^ thee and me. And she saw that she steadfastly purposed to 
go with her, and she left off speaking to her. 

1^ And they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And 
so it was, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the 
city was moved about them ; and they said : Is this Naomi ? 

20 And she said to them : Call me not Naomi ; call me Mara. 

2^ For the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me, I went 
out full, and Jehovah has brought me back empty. Why 
call ye me Naomi, seeing that Jehovah has testified against 

22 me, and the Almighty has afflicted me ? And Naomi re- 
turned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with 
her, who returned out of the country of Moab. And they 
came to Beth-lehem at the beginning of barley harvest. 

^ And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty 
man in wealth, of the family of Elimelech ; and his name 

V. 20. Naomi. Meaning, pleasantneBs ; one who is delighted in. Mara, bitterness ; one 

whose lot is bitter. 

103 



Chap. ii. KUTH. 



2 was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi : Let me 
go now to the field, and glean among the ears of grain after 
him in whose sight I shall find favor. And she said to her : 

3 Go, my daughter. And she went, and came and gleaned in 
the field, after the reapers. And she chanced to light on the 
part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family 
of Elimelech. 

* And, behold, Boaz came from Beth-lehem. And he said 
to the reapers : Jehovah be with you. And they answered 

^ him : Jehovah bless thee. And Boaz said to his servant that 

^ was set over the reapers : Whose damsel is this ? And the 
servant that was set over the reapers answered and said : It 
is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of 

*^ the country of Moab. And she said : I pray you, let me 
glean and gather among the sheaves, after the reapers. And 
she came, and has remained even from the morning until 
now, that she sat a little while in the house. 

^ And Boaz said to Buth : Hearest thou not, my daughter ? 
Go not to glean in another field ; and go not away from here, 

^ but abide here fast by my maidens. Let thine eyes be on 
the field which they reap, and go thou after them. Have I 
not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee ? 
And when thou art athirst, go to the vessels, and drink of 

1^ that which the young men draw. Then she fell on her face, 
and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him : Why 
have I found favor in thine eyes, that thou shouldest care 

^1 for me, seeing that I am a stranger? And Boaz answered 
and said to her : It has been fully shown to me, all that thou 
hast done to thy mother-in-law since the death of thy hus- 
band ; and hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land 
of thy birth, and art come to a people which thou knewest 

12 not heretofore. Jehovah recompense thy work ; and a full 
reward be given thee of Jehovah, God of Israel, under 

1^ whose wings thou art come to trust. And she said : Let me 
find favor in thy sight, my lord ; for thou hast comforted me, 
and thou hast spoken kindly to thy handmaid, though I be 

1* not as one of thy handmaidens. And Boaz said to her : At 

104 



KUTH. Chap. hi. 



meal-time come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy 
morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers ; and 
he reached to her parched grain, and she ate, and was satis- 

^^ fied, and had left thereof And she rose up to glean. And 
Boaz commanded his young men, saying : Let her glean even 

^^ between the sheaves, and reproach her not. And also draw 
out purposely for her out of the handfuls, and leave it, that 

^'^ she may glean, and rebuke her not. And she gleaned in the 
field until the evening. And she beat out that which she 
had gleaned ; and it was about an ephah of barley. 

^^ And she took it up, and came into the city ; and her mother- 
in-law saw what she had gleaned. And she brought out and 
gave to her that which she had left, after she was satisfied. 

^^ And her mother-in-law said to her : Where hast thou gleaned 
to-day ? And where wroughtest thou ? Blessed be he that 
did care for thee. And she told her mother-in-law with 
whom she wrought, and said : The name of the man with 

20 whom I wrought to-day is Boaz. And Naomi said to her 
daughter-in-law : Blessed of Jehovah be he, who has not left 
off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said 
to her : The man is near of kin to us, one of our next kins- 

21 men. And Ruth the Moabitess said : He said to me also, 
thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended 

22 all my harvest. And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in- 
law : It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maid- 

23 ens, that one meet thee not in another field. And she kept 
fast by the maidens of Boaz, to glean unto the end of barley 
harvest and of wheat harvest. And she dwelt with her 
mother-in-law. 

1 And Naomi her mother-in-law said to her : My daughter, 
shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee ? 

2 And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens 
thou wast? Behold, he winnows barley to-night in the 

3 threshingfloor. Wash and anoint thyself, and put thy rai- 

V. 14. Had left thereof ; and she carried it home to her mother-in-law, as is stated in v. 18. 
V. 17. Ephah. A dry measure, estimated at about half a bushel. 

105 



Chap. iii. KUTH. 



ment upon thee, and go down to the floor. Make not thy- 
self known to the man, until he shall have done eating and 

* drinking. And it shall be, when he lies down, that thou 
shalt observe the place where he shall lie ; and thou shalt 
come and uncover his feet, and lay thee down ; and he will 

^ tell thee what thou shalt do. And she said to her : All that 
thou sayest to me I will do. 

^ And she went down to the floor, and did according to all 

'^ that her mother-in-law bade her. And Boaz ate and drank, 
and his heart was merry ; and he came to lie down at the 
end of the heap of grain. And she came softly, and uncov- 
ered his feet, and laid herself down. 

^ And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid ; 
and he turned himself, and behold, a woman lay at his feet. 

9 And he said : Who art thou ? And she said : I am Ruth thy 
handmaid ; and spread thy skirt over thy handmaid, for thou 

1^ art a near kinsman. And he said : Blessed be thou of Jeho- 
vah, my daughter. Thou hast shown thy kindness more in 
the end than at the beginning, in that thou foUowest not the 

1^ young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, 
fear not. All that thou sayest I will do for thee. For all 
the city of my people knows that thou art a virtuous woman. 

12 And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman ; and there 

1^ is also a kinsman nearer than I. Remain this night. And 
it shall be in the morning, that if he will do to thee the part 
of a kinsman, well ; let him do the kinsman's part. And if 
he is not willing to do the part of a kinsman to thee, then 
will I do the kinsman's part to thee, as Jehovah lives. Lie 
down until the morning. 

1* And she lay at his feet until the morning ; and she rose 
up before one could know another. And he said : Let it not 

1^ be known that the woman came in to the floor. And he said : 
Give here the mantle that is upon thee, and hold it. And she 

V. 9. Thy skirt. Or, thy covering. Thou art a near kinsman. See the remarks on ch. 

4:3-8. 

V. 11. All the city. Literally, all the gate ; referring to the broad open space at the entrance 
to the city, a place of public resort, where the business of the city was transacted. (Compare 
ch. 1:1.) What was known there was known to all the city. 

106 



KUTH. Chap. iv. 



held it, and he measured six measures of barley, and laid it 
1^ on her. And he went into the city. And she came to her 

mother-in-law. And she said : Who art thou, my daughter? 
1"^ And she told her all that the man had done to her. And she 

said : These six measures of barley he gave me ; for he said 

to me : Thou shalt not come empty to thy mother-in-law. 

And she said : Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how 

the matter will fall out. For the man will not rest, if he 

have not finished the thing this day. 



18 



^ And Boaz went up to the gate, and sat down there. And, 
behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by ; to whom 
he said : Thou, such a one ! Turn aside, sit down here. And 

2 he turned aside, and sat down. Aud he took ten men of the 
elders of the city, and said : Sit ye down here. And they 

2 sat down. And he said to the kinsman : JSTaomi, who has come 
back out of the country of Moab, sold the parcel of land 

* which belonged to our brother Elimelech. And I thought to 
make it known to thee, and say : Buy it before the inhab- 
itants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt 
redeem it, redeem it. And if thou wilt not redeem it, tell 
me, that I may know ; for there is none to redeem it besides 
thee, and I am after thee. And he said : I will redeem it. 

5 And Boaz said : In the day thou buyest the field from the 
hand of T^^aomi, thou buyest it also of Ruth the Moabitess, 
the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon 

^ his inheritance. And the kinsman said : I cannot redeem it 
for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance. Redeem thou my 

^ right for thyself; for I cannot redeem it. Now in former 
times in Israel, in redeeming and in exchanging, this was the 
manner in order to confirm every thing ; a man drew off his 
shoe, and gave it to his fellow. And this was a testimony in 

^ Israel. And the kinsman said to Boaz : Buy it for thee. 
And he drew off his shoe. 

VV. 3 and 4 refer to the enactment in Lev. 25 : 25. By custom, the duty devolved first on 
the nearest kinsman ; but might be waived by him, as here, in favor of the next of kin. 

W. 5-8 refer to a very ancient custom. See Gen. 38 : 8, and the writer's remarks on it. The 
custom was much older than the date of the Mosaio law, by which its observance was regu- 
lated, and its hardships lessened. For this law, see Deut. 25 : 5-10. 

107 



Chap. iy. EUTH. 



^ And Boaz said to the elders and all the people : Ye are wit- 
nesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, 
and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, from the hand of 
^^ Naomi. And also Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, 
have I bought to be my wife, to raise up the name of the 
dead on his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut 
off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place ; 
^^ ye are witnesses this day. And all the people that were in 
the gate, and the elders, said : We are witnesses. Jehovah 
make the woman that is come into thy house as Rachel and 
as Leah, which two did build the house of Israel ; and do 
thou gain strength in Ephratah, and get thee a name in Beth- 
^2 lehem. And let thy house be as the house of Pharez whom 
Tamar bore to Judah, of the seed which Jehovah shall give 
thee from this young woman. 
1^ And Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife ; and he went 
in unto her, and Jehovah gave her conception, and she bore 
1* a son. And the women said to Naomi : Blessed be Jehovah, 
who has not left thee this day without a kinsman, and his 
1^ name shall be famous in Israel. And he shall be to thee a 
restorer of life, and a nourisher of thine old age ; for thy 
daughter-in-law who loves thee has borne him, she who is 
^^ better to thee than seven sons. And Naomi took the child, 
1"^ and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse to it. And the 
women her neighbors gave it a name, saying : A son is born 
to Naomi ; and they called his name Obed. He is the father 
of Jesse, the father of David. 
IS And these are the generations of Pharez. Pharez begot 
^^ Hezron ; and Hezron begot Ram ; and Ram begot Ammina- 
20 dab ; and Amminadab begot Nahshon ; and Nahshon begot 
22 Salmon ; and Salmon begot Boaz ; and Boaz begot Obed ; and 
Obed begot Jesse ; and Jesse begot David. 

V. 11. Gain strength and get thee a name ; the blessing attending the numerous progeny 

invoked in the preceding words. 

VV. 18-22. The continuation of the genealogy to the time of David decides nothing as to 
the age of the book ; such additions being often made subsequently. 

108 



THE rmST BOOK OF SAMJEL. 

'■ And there was a man of Ramathaim-zopliim, of mount 
Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, 
the son of Ehhu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an 

2 Ephrathite. And he had two wives ; the name of the one 
was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. And 

2 Peninnah had children ; but Hannah had no children. And 
this man went up from his city yearly to worship, and to sac- 
rifice to Jehovah of Hosts in Shiloh. And there the two 
sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of Jehovah. 

^ And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to 
Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, 

^ portions. And to Hannah he gave a portion for two. For 

^ he loved Hannah ; and Jehovah had closed her womb. And 
her adversary provoked her also sorely, to make her fret 

■^ because Jehovah had closed her womb. And so did he year 
by year ; as often as she went up to the house of Jehovah, 

^ so did she provoke her ; and she wept, and did not eat. And 
Elkanah her husband said to her : Hannali, why weepest 
thou ? And why eatest thou not ? And why is thy heart 
grieved ? Am not I better to thee than ten sons ? 

^ And Hannah rose up after she had eaten in Shiloh, and 
after she had drunken. And Eli the priest sat on the seat 
^^ by the post of the temple of Jehovah. And she was in bit- 
terness of soul ; and she prayed to Jehovah, and wept sorely. 
11 And she vowed a vow, and said : Jehovah of Hosts, if 
thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thy handmaid, and 

Ch. i. The history of the nation is here resumed and continued from the end of ch. xvi. of 
the book of the Judges, where their history closed. See the writer's note at the end of that 
book. It is thought not improbable that Eli, the high-priest and Judge, was for a time con- 
temporary with Samson, but in another part of the country. 

109 



Chap. i. I. SAMUEL. 



remember me, and not forget thy handmaid, and wilt give 
to thy handmaid a man-child ; then will I give him to Jeho- 
vah all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come 

12 upon his head. And it came to pass, as she continued pray- 

'^^ ing before Jehovah, that Eli observed her mouth. And 
Hannah spoke in her heart ; only her lips moved, but her 
voice was not heard. And Eli thought her a drunken wom- 

1^ an. And Eli said to her : How long wilt thou be drunken ? 

1^ Put away thy wine from thee. And Hannah answered and 
said : ^Fo, my lord ; I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I 
have drunk neither wine nor strong drink ; and I poured 

1*^ out my soul before Jehovah. Count not thy handmaid for 
a vile woman ; for out of the abundance of my complaint 

1"^ and my grief have I spoken hitherto. And Eli answered 
and said : Go in peace ; and the God of Israel grant thy peti- 

1^ tion that thou hast asked of him. And she said : Let thy 
handmaid find favor in thy sight. And the woman went her 
way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. 

1^ And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped 
before Jehovah ; and they returned, and came to their house, 
to Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife ; and Jeho- 

20 vah remembered her. And it came to pass, in the course of 
time, that Hannah conceived, and she bore a son ; and she 
called his name Samuel, saying ; Because I have asked him 

21 of Jehovah. And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went 
up to offer to Jehovah the yearly sacrifice, and his vow. 

22 And Hannah went not up, for she said to her husband : Lentil 
the child be weaned, and I bring him that he may appear 

23 before Jehovah, and there abide for ever. And Elkanah 
her husband said to her : Do what seems to thee good. 
Wait until thou hast weaned him ; only, may Jehovah estab- 
lish his word. And the woman waited,, and gave suck to 
her son until she weaned him. 

2* And when she had weaned him, she brought him up with 
her, with three bullocks, and an ephah of flour, and a bottle 
of wine, and brought him to the house of Jehovah in Shiloh. 

25 And the child was young. And they slew the bullock, and 

no 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. n. 



26 they brought the child to Eh. And she said : Beseech thee 
my lord, as thy soul lives, my lord, I am the woman that 

27 stood by thee here, praying to Jehovah. For this child I 
prayed ; and Jehovah has given me my petition which I 

28 asked of him. And I also have lent him to Jehovah ; as 
Ions: as he lives he shall be lent to Jehovah. And he wor- 
shipped Jehovah there. 

^ And Hannah prayed, and said : 

My heart is joyful in Jehovah ; 
My horn is exalted in Jehovah. 
My mouth is opened against my enemies, 
Because I rejoice in thy help. 

2 There is none holy as Jehovah ; 
For there is none besides thee, 
Nor any rock like our God. 

3 Talk no more so proudly, proudly ; 

Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth. 
For Jehovah is a God of knowledge, 
And by him actions are weighed. 

4 The bows of the mighty are broken, 

And they that stumbled are girded with strength. 
B The full have hired themselves out for bread ; 

And the hungi-y cease from toil. 
Even the barren has borne seven ; 
And she that had many children mourns. 

6 Jehovah kills, and makes alive ; 

He brings down to the grave, and he brings up. 

7 Jehovah makes poor, and he makes rich ; 
He brings low, and he lifts up. 

8 He raises up the poor out of the dust. 
Lifts up the needy from the dunghill ; 
To set them with princes, 

And he makes them inherit a throne of glory. 

For the pillars of the earth are Jehovah's, 
And he has set the world upon them. 

9 He will keep the feet of his saints. 

And the wicked shall perish in darkness ; 
For by strength sliall no man prevail. 
10 His adversaries will Jehovah break in pieces ; 

Out of heaven will ho thunder upon them. 
Jehovah will judge the ends of the earth ; 
And he will give strength to his king, 
And will exalt the horn of his anointed. 
Ill 



Chap. ii. I. SAMUEL, 



11 And Elkanah went to Ramah, to his house. And the child 
ministered to Jehovah before Eh the priest. 

12 And the sons of Eh were wicked men ; they knew not 
1^ Jehovah. And it was the custom of the priests with the 

people, that when any man offered sacrifice the priest's ser- 
vant came, while the flesh was cooked, with a flesh-hook of 

1* three teeth in his hand ; and he struck it into the pan, or 
kettle, or caldron, or pot ; all that the flesh-hook brought up 
the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh to all 

15 Israel that came thither. Also before they burn the fat, the 
priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed : 
Give flesh to roast for the priest ; for he will not take of thee 

1^ flesh cooked, but raw. And the man said to him : They will 
verily burn the fat presently, and then take for thee as much 
as thy soul desires ; and he said to him : Thou shalt give it 

1"^ now, and if not I will take it by force. And the sin of the 
young men was very great before Jehovah ; because the 
men despised the offering of Jehovah. 

1^ And Samuel ministered before Jehovah, a child, girded 

1^ with a linen ephod. And his mother made him a little robe, 
and brought it up to him from year to year, when she went 
up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 

20 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said : Jehovah 
give thee seed from this woman, for the loan which is lent to 

21 Jehovah. And they went to his place. And Jehovah vis- 
ited Hannah, and she conceived ; and she bore three sons 
and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew ujo before 
Jehovah. 

22 And Eli was very old ; and he heard all that his sons did 
to all Israel ; and that they lay with the women who served 

23 at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he 
said to them : Why do ye such things ? For I hear of your 

2* evil deeds from all this people, ^ay, my sons ; for it is no 
good report that I hear. Ye make Jehovah's people trans- 

25 gress. If one man sin against another, God judges him ; 
but if a man sin against Jehovah, who shall entreat for him ? 
And they hearkened not to the voice of then^ father ; be- 

112 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. ii. 



2^ cause Jehovah was pleased to slay them. And the child 
Samuel grew m stature, and in favor both with Jehovah and 
with men. 

2^ And there came a man of God to Eli, and said to him : 
Thjs says Jehovah : Did I plainly reveal myself to the 
house of thy father, when they were in Egypt subject to 

2^ Pharaoh's house ? And I chose him out of all the tribes of 
Israel for my priest, to offer upon my altar, to burn incense, 
to wear an ephod before me ; and I gave to the house of thy 
father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel. 

2^ Wherefore do ye trample on my sacrifice and on my offer- 
ing, which I have commanded in my habitation ? And thou 
honor est thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the 

^^ chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people. Therefore 
Jehovah God of Israel says : I said indeed that thy house, 
and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever. 
But now Jehovah sa3^s : Be it far from me ; for them that 
honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be 

"^ lightly esteemed. Behold, the days come that I will cut off* 
thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall 

^2 not be an old man in thy house. And thou shalt see an 
enemy in my habitation, in all which shall do good to Israel ; 

23 and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever. And 
the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from my altar, 
shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thy heart ; and 
all the increase of thy house shall die in the flower of their 

3^ age. And this shall be a sign to thee, that which shall come 
upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas ; in one day 

'^ they both of them shall die. And I will raise up for me a 
faithful priest, and he shall do according to that which is in 
my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure 

^^ house, and he shall walk before my anointed for ever. And 
it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thy house 
shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a mor- 
sel of bread, and shall say : Put me, I pray thee, in one of 
the priests' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread. 

V. 33. Shall die in the flower of their age. Literally, shall die men ; ia manhood's prime, 
and not longer spared. See vs. 31, 32 

113 



Chap. hi. I. SAMUEL. 



1 And the child Samuel ministered to Jehovah before Eli. 
And the word of Jehovah was unfrequent in those days ; 

2 there w^as no wide-spread vision. And it came to pass at 
that time, when Eli was lying down in his place, and his eyes 

3 began to grow dim, that he could not see ; and ere the lamp 
of God went out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple 

^ of Jehovah, where the ark of God was, that Jehovah called 

^ to Samuel. And he said : Here am I. And he ran to Eli, 
and said : Here am I ; for thou calledst me. And he said : 
I called not ; go back, and lie down. And he went and lay 

^ down. And Jehovah called yet again, Samuel ! And Samuel 
arose and went to Eli, and said : Here am I ; for thou call- 
edst me. And he said : 1 called not, my son ; go back, and lie 

■^ down. And Samuel did not yet know Jehovah, nor was the 

^ word of Jehovah yet revealed to him. And Jehovah called 
Samuel again, the third time. And he arose and went to 
Eli, and said : Here am I ; for thou calledst me. And Eli 

^ perceived that Jehovah was calling the child. And Eli said 
to Samuel : Go, lie down. And it shall be, if he call thee, 
that thou shalt say : Speak, Jehovah ; for thy servant 
1^ hears. And Samuel went, and lay down in his place. And 
Jehovah came, and stood, and called as at other times, 
Samuel ! Samuel ! And Samuel said : Speak ; for thy ser- 
vant hears. 
^^ And Jehovah said to Samuel : Behold, I do a thing in 
Israel, at which both the ears of every one that hears it shall 

^2 tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things 
which I have spoken concerning his house, beginning and 
13 ending. And I have told him that I will judge his house 
for ever for the iniquity which he knew, that his sons were 
1^ bringing on them a curse, and he restrained them not. And 
therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli, that the iniquity 
of Eli's house shall not be expiated with sacrifice or offering 
for ever. 

v. 1. Vision ; a revelation from God, in wh-.itever form, whether an audible voice, or sug- 
gested thoughts, or a dream, or a sign. Wide-spread ; either widely imparted to different 

instruments of the divine will, or widely promulgated through them. 

114 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. iy. 



1^ And Samuel lay until the morning ; and he opened the 
doors of the house of Jehovah. And Samuel feared to make 

^^ known the vision to Eli. And Eli called Samuel, and said : 

1"^ Samuel, my son. And he said : Here am I. And he said : 
What is the thing that he has spoken to thee ? Do not hide 
it from me. God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide 
any thing from me of all the things that he has spoken to 

^^ thee. And Samuel told him all these, and hid nothing from 
him. And he said : It is Jehovah ; let him do what is good 
in his sight. 

1^ And Samuel grew, and Jehovah was with him, and let 

2^ none of all his words fall to the ground. And all Israel, 
from Dan unto Beer-sheba, knew that Samuel was estab- 

2^ lished to be a prophet of Jehovah. And Jehovah appeared 
again in Shiloh. For Jehovah revealed himself to Samuel 
in Shiloh by the word of Jehovah. And the word of Samuel 
came to all Israel. 

1 And Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and 
encamped beside Eben-ezer ; and the Philistines encamped in 

2 Aphek. And the Philistines put themselves in array against 
Israel. And they joined battle, and Israel was smitten be- 
fore the Philistines ; and they slew of the army in the field 
about four thousand men. 

3 And the people came into the camp, and the elders of 
Israel said : Wherefore has Jehovah smitten us to-day before 
the Philistines ? Let us bring to us the ark of the covenant 
of Jehovah out of Shiloh ; and it shall come into the midst 

^ of us, and save us out of the hand of our enemies. And the 
people sent to Shiloh, and brought from thence the ark of the 
covenant of Jehovah of Hosts, who sits above the cherubim. 
And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there 
with the ark of the covenant of God. 

5 And it came to pass, when the ark of the covenant of 
Jehovah came into the camp, that all Israel shouted with a 

^ great shout, so that the earth shook. And the Philistines 
heard the noise of the shout, and they said : What means the 

115 



Chap. iv. I. SAMUEL. 



noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews ? And 
they understood that the ark of Jehovah was come into the 

■^ camp. And the Phihstines were afraid ; for they said : God 
is come into the camp. And they said : Woe unto us ! For 

^ there has not been such a thing heretofore. Woe unto us ! 
Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods ? 
These are the gods that smote the Egyptians with all manner 

^ of plagues in the wilderness. Take courage, and be men, 
ye Philistines, that ye be not servants to the Hebrews, as 
they have been to you. Be men, and fight. 

^^ And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and 
they fled every man to his tents. And there was a very 
great slaughter ; and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot- 

^^ men. And the ark of God was taken ; and the two sons of 
Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were dead. 

^2 And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and 
came to Shiloh on the same day, with his clothes rent, and 

^^ with earth upon his head. And when he came, lo, Eli sat 
on the seat by the wayside watching ; for his heart trembled 
for the ark of God. And the man came to tell it in the city, 

^^ and all the city cried out. And Eli heard the noise of the 
cry, and he said : What means the noise of this tumult ? And 

1^ the man hasted, and came and told it to Eli. And Eli was 
ninety and eight years old ; and his eyes were set, that he 

^^ could not see. And the man said to Eli : I am he that came 
out of the army ; and I fled out of the army to-day. And 

^'^ he said : How went the matter, my son ? And the messen- 
ger answered and said : Israel fled before the Philistines, and 
there was also a great slaughter among the people ; and thy 
two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark 

^^ of God is taken. And it came to pass, when he made men- 
tion of the ark of God, that he fell from the seat backward 
by the side of the gate ; and his neck was broken, and he 
died. For he was an old man, and heavy. And he had 
judged Israel forty years. 

^^ And his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was with 
child, near to be delivered. And when she heard the tidings 

116 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. v. 



that the ark of G-od was taken, and that her father-in-law 

and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed ; 
^^ for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her 

death the women that stood by her said to her : Fear not ; 

for thou hast borne a son. But she answered not, nor did 
2^ she regard it. And she named the child Ichabod, saying: 

The glory is departed from Israel ; because the ark of God 

was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 
22 And she said : The glory is departed from Israel ; for the ark 

of God is taken. 
1 And the Philistines took the ark of God ; and they brought 

it from Eben-ezer to Ashdod. 



2 And the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it 

2 into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. And men of 
Ashdod arose early on the morrow, and behold, Dagon was 
fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of Jehovah. 

* And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. And 
they arose early on the morning of the morrow, and behold, 
Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of 
Jehovah ; and the head of Dagon, and his two hands, were 
cut off upon the threshold ; only the stump of Dagon was 

^ left to him. Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any 
that come into the house of Dagon, tread on the threshold 

^ of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day. And the hand of Jeho- 
vah was heavy upon the men of Ashdod, and he destroyed 
them ; and he smote them with emerods, Ashdod and the 

■^ borders thereof. And when the men of Ashdod saw that it 
was so, they said : The ark of the God of Israel shall not 
abide with us ; for his hand is hard upon us, and upon Dagon 

^ our god. And they sent and gathered to them all the lords 
of the Philistines, and said : What shall we do with the ark 
of the God of Israel ? And they said : Let the ark of the 
God of Israel be removed to Gath. And they removed the 

v. 4. Only the stump of Dagon was left to him. Literally, only Dagon was left to him. The 
Hebrew word dagon means a fish ; and the body of the idol was that of a fish, having the head 
and arms of a man. When these were severed from it, nothing was left but the fish (Dagon), 
the stump of the idol. The meaning is well expressed ia the English version. 

117 



CH^iP. VL I. SAMUEL. 



^ ark of the God of Israel. And it was so that, after they had 
removed it, the hand of Jehovah was against the city with a 
very great destruction ; and he smote the men of the city, 
both small and great, and emerods broke out on them. 

1^ And they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to 
pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites 
cried out, saying : They have brought the ark of the God of 

1^ Israel to us, to slay us and our people. And they sent and 
gathered all the lords of the Philistines, and said : Send away 
the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to its place, 
that it slay us not, and our people. For there was a deadly 
destruction in all the city ; the hand of God was very heavy 

^2 there. And the men that died not were smitten with the 
emerods ; and the cry of the city went up to heaven. 

1 And the ark of Jehovah was in the country of the Philis- 

2 tines seven months. And the Philistines called the priests 
and the diviners, saying : What shall we do with the ark of 
Jehovah ? Tell us wherewith we shall send it to its place. 

^ And they said : If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, 
ye may not send it empty ; but ye must pay him a trespass- 
offering. Then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to 

^ you why his hand is not removed from you. And they said : 
What is the trespass-offering which we shall pay him ? They 
said : Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according 
to the number of the lords of the Philistines ; for one plague 

^ is on all of you, and on your lords. And make images of 
your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land ; 
and give honor to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten 
his hand from you, and from your gods, and from your land. 

^ And wherefore should ye harden your hearts, as the Egyp- 
tians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When he had 
wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people 

■^ go, and they departed ? And now make a new cart, and take 
two milch kine, on which there has come no yoke, and yoke 
the kine 16 the cart, and bring their calves away from them 

^ home. And take the ark of Jehovah, and lay it on the cart ; 

118 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. vt. 



and put the golden images, which ye pay him as a trespass- 
offering, in the coffer by the side thereof ; and send it away, 
^ that it may go. And see, if by the way to its own border 
it goes up to Beth-shemesh, then he has done us this great 
evil ; and if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand 
that smote us ; it was a chance that happened to us. 

1^ And the men did so. And they took two milch kine, and 
yoked them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. 

1^ And they laid the ark of Jehovah on the cart, and the coffer 

12 with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods. And 
the kine went straight along the way on the way to Beth- 
shemesh, on one highway they went, lowing as they went, 
and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left ; and 
the lords of the Philistines went after them, unto the border 

1^ of Beth-shemesh. And Beth-shemites were reaping their 
wheat-harvest in the valley. And they raised their eyes, 

1"^ and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. And the cart came 
into the field of Joshua, the Beth-shemite, and stood there ; 
and a great stone was there. And they clave the wood of 
the cart, and offered the kine as a burnt-offering to Jehovah. 

1^ And the Levites took down the ark of Jehovah, and the 
coffer that was with it, wherein were the golden images, and 
put them on the great stone. And the men of Beth-shemesh 
offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed sacrifices, the same day 

1^ to Jehovah. And the five lords of the Philistines saw it ; 

^'^ and they returned to Ekron the same day. And these are 
the golden emerods which the Philistines paid as a trespass- 
offering to Jehovah ; for Ashdod one, for Qaza one, for Ash- 

1® kelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one. And the golden 
mice were according to the number of all the cities of the 
Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, 
and of country villages. And the great stone, whereon they 
set down the ark of Jehovah in the field of Joshua the Beth- 
shemite, is a witness unto this day. 

1* And he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they 

V. 18. And the great stone, etc. The remainder of the verse is translated according to the 
most approved reading of the Hebrew text. 

119 



Chap. vn. I. SAMUEL. 



looked on the ark of Jehovah ; and he smote of the people 
fifty thousand and threescore and ten men. And the people 
lamented, because Jehovah had smitten the people with a 

20 great slaughter. And the men of Beth-shemesh said : Who 
is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God? And to 
whom shall he go up from us ? 

21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath- 
jearim, saying: The Philistines have brought back the ark 
of Jehovah ; come down, and carry it up to you. 

^ And the men of Kirjath-jearim came, and carried up the 
ark of Jehovah, and brought it into the house of Abinadab 
on the hill ; and they consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the 

2 ark of Jehovah. And it came to pass, that while the ark 
abode in Kirjath-jearim the time was long ; for it was twenty 
3^ears, And all the house of Israel lamented after Jehovah. 

^ And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying : If 
ye do return to Jehovah with all your heart, then put away 
the strange gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and 
direct your heart to Jehovah, and serve him only ; and he 

^ will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. And the 
children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths ; 

^ and they served Jehovah only. And Samuel said : Gather 
all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you to Jehovah. 

^ And they were gathered together to Mizpeh ; and they drew 
water, and poured it out before Jehovah, and fasted on that 
day. And they said there : We have sinned against Jeho- 
vah. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh. 

"^ And the Phihstines heard that the children of Israel were 
gathered together to Mizpeh ; and the lords of the Philistines 
went up against Israel. And the children of Israel heard it ; 

^ and they were afraid of the Philistines. And the children of 
Israel said to Samuel : Cease not to cry to Jehovah our God 
for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines. 



V. 19. Because they looked on the ark of Jehovah ; profaning the sacred symbol of his pres- 
ence with the irreverent gaze of idle curiosity. 

V. 20. To whom'shall he go up from us ? To what other people, is meant ; answered in the 
next verse. 

V. 4c. The Baals and the Ashtoreths. See the writer's note on Judges 2 : 13, and on Gen. 14 : 5. 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. vm. 



^ And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it whole as 
a burnt-offering to Jehovah. And Samuel cried unto Jeho- 

^^ vah for Israel ; and Jehovah heard him. And as Samuel 
was offering up the burnt-offering, the Philistines drew near 
for battle against Israel. And Jehovah thundered with a 
great noise upon the Philistines that day, and discomfited 

^^ them ; and they were smitten before Israel. And the men 
of Israel went out from Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, 

12 and smote them, as far as below Beth-car. And Samuel took 
a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen ; and he called 
the name of it Eben-ezer, saying : Hitherto has Jehovah 
helped us. 

12 And the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more 
into the border of Israel. And the hand of Jehovah was 

1* against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. And the 
cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were re- 
stored to Israel, from Ekron unto Gath ; and the borders 
thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. 

1^ And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. And 

1^ Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And he went 
from year to year in circuit to Beth-el, and Gilgal, and Miz- 

*i^ peh, and judged Israel in all those places. And his return 
was to Ramah ; for there was his house, and there he judged 
Israel ; and there he built an altar to Jehovah. 

1 And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made 

2 his sons judges over Israel. And the name of his firstborn 
was Joel ; and the name of his second, Abiah. They were 

2 judges in Beer-sheba. And his sons walked not in his ways ; 

and they turned aside after gain, and took bribes, and per- 
* verted judgment. And all the elders of Israel gathered 
^ together, and came to Samuel to Ramah. And they said to 

him : Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy 

ways. Now make us a king to judge us, like all the nations. 
^ And the thing displeased Samuel, when they said : Give 

us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed to Jehovah. 

V. 12. Ehenezer ; meaning, stone of help. 

121 



Chap. vtii. I. SAMUEL. 



■^ And Jehovah said to Samuel : Hearken to the voice of the 
people in all that they say to thee ; for they have not rejected 
thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over 

^ them. According to all the works which they have done 
since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt unto this 
day, in forsaking me, and in serving other gods, so do they 

^ also to thee. And now hearken to their voice ; only, thou 
shalt solemnly protest to them, and show them the manner 
of the king that shall reign over them. 

1^ And Samuel told all the words of Jehovah to the people 

^1 that asked of him a king. And he said : This will be the 
manner of the king that shall reign over you. He will take 
your sons, and set them for himself, in his chariot, and on his 

12 horses ; and they shall run before his chariot. And he will 
set for himself captains over thousands, and captains over 
fifties ; and will set them to plough his ground, and to reap 
his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and furniture 

1^ of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be per- 

1* fumers, and cooks, and bakers. And he will take your fields, 
and your vineyards, and your olive-yards, the best of them, 

1^ and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth 
of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, 

1^ and to his servants. And your men-servants, and your maid- 
servants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, he 

1^ will take and put to his work. He will take the tenth of 

1^ your sheep. And ye shall be his servants. And ye shall 
cry out in that day, because of your king which ye shall 
have chosen for you ; and Jehovah will not hear you in that 
day. 

1^ But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And 

2^ they said : ]*^ay ; but there shall be a king over us ; that 
Ave also may be like all the nations ; and that our king may 

21 judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles. And 
Samuel heard all the words of the people ; and he rehearsed 

22 them in the ears of Jehovah. And Jehovah said to Samuel : 
Hearken to their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel 
said to the men of Israel : Gro ye, every man to his city. 

122 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. ix. 



^ And there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish ; 
the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the 
son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of 

2 wealth. And he had a son whose name was Saul, young 
and goodly. And there was not among the children of Israel 
a goodlier person than he ; from his shoulders and upward 

^ he was higher than any of the people. And the asses of 
Kish, the father of Saul, were lost. And Kish said to Saul 
his son : Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, 

^ go seek the asses. And he passed through mount Ephraim, 
and passed through the land of Shalisha, and they found them 
not ; and they passed through the land of Shalim, and they 
were not there ; and he passed through the land of the Ben- 

^ jamites, and they found them not. They came to the land 
of Zuph. And Saul said to his servant that was with him : 
Come, and let us return ; lest my father leave caring for the 

^ asses, and be concerned for us. And he said to him : Behold 
now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honora- 
ble man ; all that he says comes surely to pass. Now let us 
go thither ; perhaps he can show us our way that we should 

■^ go. And Saul said to his servant : And behold, if we go, 
what shall we bring to the man ? For the bread is spent in 
our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of 

^ God. What have we ? And the servant answered Saul 
again, and said : Behold, there is in my hand the fourth part 
of a shekel of silver ; and I will give it to the man of God, 

^ that he may tell us our way. (Formerly in Israel, when a 
man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus : Come, and let 
us go to the Seer ; for he that is now called the Prophet was 

1° formerly called the Seer.) And Saul said to his servant : 
Well said ; come, let us go. And they went to the city where 
the man of God was. ; 

11 As they went up by the ascent to the city, they met young 
maidens coming out to draw water ; and they said to them : 

1"^ Is the Seer here ? And they answered them, and said : He 
is ; behold, he is before thee. Make haste now, for he came 

123 



Chap. ix. I. SAMUEL. 



to-day to the city ; for there is a sacrifice of the people to-day 
13 on the high place. As soon as ye are come into the city, ye 
will straightway meet him, before he goes up to the high 
place to eat ; for the people will not eat until he comes, be- 
cause he blesses the sacrifice ; afterwards they eat that are 
bidden. And now go up ; for about this time ye will find 
1^ him. And they went up to the city. They were coming 
into the city, and behold, Samuel came out towards them, to 
go up to the high place. 
1^ And Jehovah had told Samuel a day before Saul came, 
1^ saying : About this time to-morrow I will send thee a man 
out of the land of Benjamin, and thou slialt anoint him to be 
prince over my people Israel ; and he shall save my people 
out of the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked upon 
1"^ my people, because their cry is come unto me. And Samuel 
saw Saul ; and Jehovah answered him : Behold the man of 
w4iom I said to thee : This same shall reign over my people. 
1^ And Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said : Tell 
1^ me, I pray thee, where is the house of the Seer. And Samuel 
answered Saul, and said : I am the Seer. Go up before me 
to the high place ; and ye shall eat w^th me to-day, and to- 
morrow I will let thee go, and I will tell thee all that is in 
2^ thy heart. And as for thine asses that were lost three days 
ago, set not thy mind on them ; for they are found. And on 
whom is all the desire of Israel ? Is it not on thee, and on 

21 all thy father's house ? And Saul answered and said : Am 
not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, 
and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of 

22 Benjamin ? And w^herefore speakest thou so to me ? And 
Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the 
chamber, and gave them a place at the head of them that 

23 were bidden, who were about thirty persons. And Samuel 
said to the cook : Bring the portion which I gave thee, of 

2* which I said to thee : Set it by thee. And the cook took up 
tlie shoulder, and that which was upon it, and set it before 

V. 17. AnsHwred; to the prophet's inquiring look, or inward thought. See the writer's 
note on Job 3 : 2. 

124 



I. SAMUEL. Chap.x. 



Saul ; and he said : Behold that which remains ! Set it before 
thee, and eat ; for unto this time has it been kept for thee 
since I said, I have invited the people. And Saul ate with 
Samuel that day. 

25 And they came down from the high place into the city ; 

26 and he talked with Saul on the top of the house. And they 
arose early. And it came to pass about the dawning of the 
day, that Samuel called to Saul on the top of the house, say- 
ing : Rise up, and I will send thee on thy way. And Saul 
arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, on 

2^ the street. As they were going down to the end of the city, 
Samuel said to Saul : Bid the servant pass on before us, (and 
he passed on); and stand thou still awhile, that I may let thee 
hear the word of God. 

^ And Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it on his 
head, and kissed him, and said : Is it not because Jehovah 

2 has anointed thee to be prince over his inheritance ? When 
thou goest from me to-day, thou wilt meet two men by 
Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah ; and 
they will say to thee : The asses which thou wentest to seek 
are found ; and lo, thy father has put aside the care for the 
asses, and is concerned for you, saying : What shall I do for 

^ my son ? And thou shalt pass onward from thence, and thou 
shalt come to the oak of Tabor ; and three men will meet thee 
going up to God to Beth-el, one carrying three kids, and an- 
other carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a 

* bottle of wine. And they will ask thee of thy welfare, and 
will give thee two loaves of bread ; which thou shalt receive 

5 from their hand. After that thou shalt come to the hill of 
God, where is the garrison of the Philistines. And it shall 
be, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt 
meet a company of prophets coming down from the high 
place, and before them a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, 

6 and a harp, and they prophesying. And the Spirit of Jeho- 

V. 24. That which remains ; which was " set by " (v. 23) by Samuel's direction for his own 
use. V. 1. Kissed him. A token of homage and allegiance. Sec Ps. 2 : 12. 

126 



Chap. x. I. SAMUEL. 



vah will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, 

■^ and shalt be changed into another man. And when these 
signs are come to thee, do what thy hand shall find ; for God 

^ is with thee. And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal ; 
and behold, I will come down to thee, to offer burnt-offerings, 
and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings. Seven days shalt 
thou wait till I come to thee, and make known to thee what 
thou shalt do. 

^ And it was so, when he had turned his back to go from 
Samuel, that God gave him another heart ; and all those 

1^ signs came to pass that day. And when they came thither 
to Gibeah, behold, a company of prophets met him ; and the 
Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among 

1^ them. And it came to pass, when all that knew him before 
saw, and behold, he prophesied among the prophets, that the 
people said one to another, What is this that has happened 

^'^ to the son of Kish ? Is Saul also among the prophets ? And 
one of the same place answered and said : And who is their 
father ? Therefore it became a proverb : Is Saul also among 

13 the prophets ? And when he had made an end of prophesy- 
ing, he came to the high place. 

1* And the uncle of Saul said to him and to his servant : 
Whither went ye ? And he said : To seek the asses ; and 
when we saw that they were no-where [found], we came to 

15 Samuel. And the uncle of Saul said : Tell me, I pray thee, 

1^ what Samuel said to you. And Saul said to his uncle : He 
plainly told us that the asses were found. But of the matter 
of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spoke, he told him not. 

1"^ And Samuel called the people together unto Jehovah at 

1^ Mizpeh. And he said to the children of Israel : Thus says 
Jehovah God of Israel : I brought up Israel out of Egypt, 
and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out 

1^ of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you. And 
ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you 
out of all your adversities and your tribulations ; and have 

v. 12. Who is their father ? To whom do they all owe the gift of prophecy ? The prophetic 
spirit ia not a privilege of birth. 

126 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. xi. 



said to him : Kay, but a king shalt thou set over us. And 

now present yourseh^es before Jehovah by your tribes, and 

-^ by your thousands. And Samuel caused all the tribes of 

Israel to come near ; and the tribe of Benjamin was taken. 

21 He caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their fami- 
lies ; and the family of the Matrites was taken. And Saul 
the son of Kish was taken. And they sought him, and he 

22 could not be found. And they inquired further of Jehovah : 
Is the man yet come hither ? And Jehovah answered : Be- 

23 hold, he has hid himself among the baggage. And they ran 
and fetched him thence. And he stood among the people ; 
and he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders 

2^ and upward. And Samuel said to all the people : See ye 
him whom Jehovah has chosen, that there is none like him 
among all the people ? And all the people shouted, and 
said : Long live the king ! 

2^ Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and 
wrote it in a book, and laid it up before Jehovah. And 
Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. 

26 And Saul also went home to Gibeah ; and there went with 

2"^ him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched. But 
wicked men said : How shall this man save us ? And they 
despised him, and brought him no presents. And he was as 
though he were deaf. 

^ And Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against 
Jabesh-gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to Nahasli : 

2 Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. And Na- 
hash the Ammonite said to them : On this condition will I 
make a covenant with you ; that I may dig out all your right 

2 eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel. And the 
elders of Jabesh said to him : Give us seven days' respite, 
that we may send messengers into all the borders of Israel ; 
and if there be no man to save us, we will come out to thee. 

* And the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, and spoke 
the words in the ears of the people ; and all the people lifted 

^ up their voice and wept. And, behold, Saul came after the 

127 



Chap. xn. I. SAMUEL. 



oxen out of the field ; and Saul said : What ails the people 
that they weep ? And they related to him the words of the 

^ men of *Tabesh. And the Spirit of God came upon Saul 
when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly 

'^ kindled. And he took a yoke of oxen, and cut them in 
pieces, and sent them throughout all the borders of Israel by 
the hand of messengers, saying : Whosoever comes not forth 
after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen. 
And the fear of Jehovah fell on the people, and they came 

^ out as one man. And he numbered them in Bezek ; and 
the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the 

^ men of Judah thirty thousand. And they said to the mes- 
sengers that came : Thus shall ye say to the men of Jabesh- 
gilead : To-morrow, by the time the sun is hot, ye shall have 
help. And the messengers came and made it known to the 

^^ men of Jabesh ; and they rejoiced. And the men of Jabesh 
said : To-morrow we will come out to you ; and ye shall do 

^^ to us all that seems good to you. And it was so on the mor- 
row, that Saul put the people in three companies ; and they 
came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and 
smote the Ammonites until the heat of the day ; and so it 
was, that they who remained were scattered, and not two of 
them were left together. 

12 And the people said to Samuel : Who is he that said, shall 
Saul reign over us ? Give up the men, that we may put 

1^ them to death. And Saul said : There shall not a man be 
put to death this day. For to-day Jehovah has wrought sal- 

1* vation in Israel. And Samuel said to the people : Come, 

1^ and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there. And 
all the people went to Gilgal, and there made Saul king be- 
fore Jehovah in Gilgal, and sacrificed sacrifices of peace- 
ofTerings there before Jehovah ; and there Saul, and all the 
men of Israel, rejoiced greatly. 



1 And Samuel said to all Israel : Behold, I have hearkened 
to your voice in all that ye said to me, and have made a king 

2 over you. And now, behold, the king walks before you, and 

128 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. xii. 



I am old and grayheaded ; and my sons, behold, they are 
with you, and I have walked before you from my childhood 

3 unto this day. Behold, here I am ; witness against me be- 
fore Jehovah, and before his Anointed. Whose ox have I 
taken ? or whose ass have I taken ? or whom have I de- 
frauded ? whom have I oppressed ? or from whose hand have 
I received a bribe to blind mine eyes therewith ? and I will 

* restore it to you. And they said : Thou hast not defrauded 
us, nor oppressed us, nor hast thou taken aught from any 

^ man's hand. And he Scxid to them : Jehovah be witness 
against you, and his Anointed be witness this day, that ye 
have not found aught in my hand. And they said : Let them 
witness. 

^ And Samuel said to the people : Jehovah, who appointed 

Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up out of 

. '^ the land of Egypt ! And now stand forth, that I may reason 

with you before Jehovah of all the righteous acts of Jehovah, 

^ which he did to you and to your fathers. When Jacob came 
into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto Jehovah, then Jeho- 
vah sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of 

^ Egypt, and made them dwell in this place. And they forgot 
* Jehovah their God, and he sold them into the hand of Sisera 
captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philis- 
tines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought 

^^ against them. And they cried unto Jehovah, and said : We 
have sinned, because we have forsaken Jehovah, and have 
served the Baals and the Ashtoreths ; and now deliver us 
out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. 

1^ And Jehovah sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, 

and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your ene- 

/2 mies on every side, and ye dwelt safely. And ye saw that 

Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against 

you ; and ye said to me : Nay, but a king shall reign over 

^^ us ; when Jehovah your God was your king. And now be- 
hold the king whom ye have chosen, whom ye demanded ; 

V. 10. The Baals and the AsJUoreths. See the notes on Judges 2 : 11, and 13. For Baal 
and Ashtoreth, see the writer's note on Genesis 14 : 5. 

129 



Chap. xin. I. SAMUEL. 



^^ and, behold, Jehovah has set a king over you. If ye will 
fear Jehovah, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not 
rebel against the commandment of Jehovah, and both ye 
and the king that reigns over you follow Jehovah your 

^^ God — ; but if ye will not obey the voice of Jehovah, and 
rebel against the commandment of Jehovah, the hand of 
Jehovah shall be against you, as against your fathers. 

^^ And now stand and see this great thing, which Jehovah 

^"^ will do before your eyes. Is it not wheat harvest to-day? I 
will call unto Jehovah, and he will send thunderings and 
rain ; and know ye and see, that your wickedness is great, 
which ye have done in the sight of Jehovah, in asking for 

^^ you a king. And Samuel called unto Jehovah ; and Jeho- 
vah sent thunderings and rain that day. And all the people 

1^ greatly feared Jehovah and Samuel. And ail the people 
said to Samuel : Pray for thy servants to Jehovah thy Grod, 
that we die not. For we have added to all our sins this evil, 
to ask for us a king. 

20 And Samuel said to the people : Fear not. Ye have in- 
deed done all this evil ; only turn not aside from following 

21 Jehovah, and serve Jehovah with all your heart ; and turn 
ye not aside ; for it is after vanities that do not profit nor 

22 deliver ; for they are vanities. For Jehovah will not cast off 
his people, for his great name's sake ; because it has pleased 

23 Jehovah to make you his people. As for me also, far be it 
from me that I should sin against Jehovah in ceasing to pray 
for you ; and I will teach you the good and the right way. 

21 Only fear Jehovah, and serve him in truth with all your 
2^ heart ; for see, how great things he has done with you. But 

if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be destroyed, both ye 

and your king. 
1 Thirty years old was Saul when he began to reign. 

v. 14. Some insert [well] at the end of the sentence. But it is needless. What would 
follow obedience is left to the reader's own thought, and is readily suggested by it. Precisely 
such a case occurs in Ex. 32 : 32, where correct copies of the English Bible have, " if thou 
wilt forgive their sin— ; and if not," etc. A similar case occurs in Acts 23 : 9, as correctly ex- 
pressed in the revised version of the American Bible Union ; the words, "let us not fight 
against God," being a late insertion in the Greek text to fill out the sentence. 

V. 1. Thirty years old was Saul when he began to reign. The translation of verses 1 and 2 

130 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. xin. 



2 And two years Saul had reigned over Israel, and Saul chose 
for hhn three thousand men of Israel ; two thousand were 
with Saul in Michmash and in mount Beth-el, and a thou- 
sand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin ; and the 

^ rest of the people he sent every man to his tent. And Jona- 
than smote the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba, 
and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet 

* throughout all the land, saying : Let the Hebrews hear. And 
all Israel heard it said, that Saul had smitten a garrison of 
the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination 
with the Philistines. And the people were called together 
after Saul to Gilgal. 

^ And the Philistines came together to fight with Israel, 
thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and 
people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude. 
And they came up, and encamped in Michmash, eastward 

^ from Beth-aven. And the men of Israel saw that they were 
in a strait, for the people were distressed ; and the people hid 
themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high 

^ places, and in pits. And Hebrews went over the Jordan, to 
the land of Gad and Gilead. And Saul was yet in Gilgal, 
and all the people followed him trembling. 

^ And he waited seven days, according to the set time that 
Samuel appointed. And Samuel came not to Gilgal ; and 

^ the people scattered from him. And Saul said : Bring me 

the burnt-offering, and the peace-offerings. And he offered 

^^ the burnt-offering. And it came to pass, that when he had 

made an end of offering the burnt-offering, behold, Samuel 

came ; and Saul went out toward him, to salute him. 

^1 And Samuel said : What hast thou done ? And Saul said : 

Because I saw that the people scattered from me, and that 

thou camest not at the appointed time, and that the Philis- 

^2 tines had come together at Michmash ; and I said : Now will 

the Philistines come down upon me to Gilgal, and I have not 

follows what is regarded as the true reading of the Hebrew text. It is conceded by all, that 
the rendering of the firs-t four words, ia the common English version, is a false construction 
of the Hebrew text. See Introduction, page xxiii. 

131 



Chap. xiv. I. SAMUEL. 



made supplication to Jehovah. And I forced myself, and 

13 oflered the burnt-offering. And Samuel said to Saul : Thou 
hast done foolishly. Thou hast not kept the commandment 
of Jehovah thy God, which he commanded thee ; for now 
would Jehovah have established thy kingdom over Israel 

1^ forever. And now thy kingdom shall not continue. Jeho- 
vah has sought for him a man after his own heart ; and Jeho- 
vah has commanded him to be prince over his people, because 
thou hast not kept that which Jehovah commanded thee. 

1^ And Samuel arose, and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of 
Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present 

1^ with him, about six hundred men. And Saul, and Jonathan 
his son, and the people that were present with them, abode 
m Geba of Benjamin ; and the Philistines encamped in Mich- 
mash. 

1"^ And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines 
m three companies. One company turned the way to Oph- 

1^ rah, into the land of Shual ; and another company turned the 
way to Beth-horon ; and another company turned the way of 
the border that overlooks the valley of Zeboim toward the 
wilderness. 

1^ And no smith was found in all the land of Israel ; for the 
Philistines said : Lest the Hebrews make them swords or 

2^ spears. And all Israel went down to the Philistines, to 
sharpen every man his plough -share, and his coulter, and his 

21 axe, and his mattock ; when the edges were blunted of the 
plough-shares, and of the coulters, and of the forks, and of 

22 the axes, and to set the goads. And it was so, in the day of 
battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the 
hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan. 

23 And Saul, and Jonathan his son, had them. And a garrison 
of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash. 

1 And it came to pass at that time, that Jonathan the son of 
Saul said to the young man that bore his armor : Come, and 
let us go over to the garrison of the Philistines, that is on the 

V. 20. Voulter, See the writer's note on Isaiah (Hebrew text), ch. 2 : 4. 

132 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. xiv. 



2 other side. And he told it not to his father. And Saul was 
lying in the farthest part of Gibeah, under a pomegranate 
tree which is in Migron. And the people that were with him 

2 vfere about six hundred men ; and Ahiah the son of Ahitub, 
brother of Ichabod the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli priest 
of Jehovah in Shiloh, wearing the ephod. And the people 
knew not that Jonathan was gone. 

^ And between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go 
over to the garrison of the Philistines, was a sharp rock on 
the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side ; and the 
name of the one was Bbzez, and the name of the other Seneh. 

^ The one crag was a column on the north over against Mich- 

^ mash, and the other on the south over against Geba. And 
Jonathan said to the young man that bore his armor : Come, 
and let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. 
It may be that Jehovah will work for us : for there is no 

■^ hindrance to Jehovah, to save by many or by few. And 
his armor-bearer said to him : Do all that is in thy heart. 
Turn thee ; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart. 

^ And Jonathan said : Behold, we will pass over to the men, 

^ and we will show ourselves to them. If they say thus to us : 
Stand still until we come to you ; then we will stand in our 

1^ place, and will not go up to them. And if they say thus : 
Come up to us ; then we will go up, for Jehovah has given 

1^ them into our hand ; and this shall be the sign to us. And 
they both showed themselves to the garrison of the Philis- 
tines. And the Philistines said : Behold, there are Hebrews 
coming forth out of the holes where they hid themselves. 

^2 And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his 
armor-bearer, and said : Come up to us, and we will tell you 
something. And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer : Come 
up after me ; for Jehovah has given them into the hand of 

^^ Israel. And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and his feet, 
and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jona- 

^^ than, and his armor-bearer slew after him. And that first 
slaughter, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, was 

V. 12. Answered, See the writer s note on Job, ch. 3 : 2. 

133 



Chap. xiv. I. SAMUEL. 



about twenty men, within about half a furrow of land which 

^^ a yoke of oxen might plough. And there was terror in the 
camp, in the field, and among all the people ; the garrison, 
and the spoilers, they also were terrified ; and the earth 

^^ quaked, and there was a ver}^ great terror. And the watch- 
men of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin saw, and behold, the 

^'^ multitude melted away, and went hither and thither. And 
Saul said to the people that were with him : Number now, 
and see w^ho is gone from us. And they numbered, and 

^^ behold, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there. And 
Saul said to Ahiah : Bring hither the ark of God. For the 
ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel. 

^^ And it came to pass, while Saul talked to the priest, that 
the tumult that was in the camp of the Philistines went on 
increasing. And Saul said to the priest : Withdraw thy hand. 

2^ And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled, 
and came to the battle. And, behold, every man's sword 
was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. 

21 And the Hebrews were with the Philistines as before that 
time, who went up with them into the camp around, and 
they also [turned] to be with the Israehtes that were with 

22 Saul and Jonathan. And all the men of Israel who hid 
themselves in mount Ephraim heard that the Philistines fled ; 

23 and they also followed hard after them in the battle. And 
Jehovah saved Israel that day ; and the battle passed over 
unto Beth-aven. 

2* And the men of Israel were distressed that day ; for Saul 
adjured the people, saying : Cursed be the man that eats food 
until the evening, that I may be avenged on my enemies. 

2^ And none of the people tasted food. And all they of the 
land came to a wood ; and there was honey upon the ground. 

26 And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the 
honey was flowing. And no man put his hand to his mouth ; 

2^ for the people feared the oath. But Jonathan heard not 
when his father charged the people with the oath. And he 
put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped 
it in the honey-comb, and put his hand to his mouth ; and his 

134 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. xiv. 



2^ eyes saw clearly. And one of the people answered and said : 

Thy father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying : 

Cursed be the man that eats food this day. And the people 

2^ were faint. And Jonathan said : My father has troubled the 

land. See, I pray you, how my eyes are brightened, because I 

^^ tasted a little of this honey. How much more, if the people 
had eaten freely to-day of the spoil of their enemies which 
they found ? For had there not been now a greater slaughter 

^^ among the Philistines ? And they smote the Philistines that 
day from Michmash to Aijalon. And the people were very 

^2 faint. And the people flew upon the spoil ; and they took 
sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground. 
And the people ate them with the blood. 

^^ And they told Saul, saying : Behold, the people sin against 
Jehovah, in that they eat with the blood. And he said : Ye 

^* have trespassed. Roll a great stone unto me this day. And 
Saul said : Disperse yourselves among the people, and say 
to them : Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man 
his sheep, and slay them here, and eat ; and sin not against 
Jehovah in eating with the blood. And all the people brought 
every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there. 

^^ And Saul built an altar to Jehovah. In this he first built 
an altar to Jehovah. 

2^ And Saul said : Let us go down by night after the Philis- 
tines, and spoil them until the morning light ; and let us not 
leave a man of them. And they said : Do whatsoever seems 
good to thee. And the priest said : Let us draw near hither 

^^ unto God. And Saul asked counsel of God : Shall I go down 
after the Philistines ? Wilt thou dehver them into the hand of 

3^ Israel? And he answered him not that day. And Saul 
said : Draw near hither, all the chief of the people ; and 

2^ know and see wherein this sin has been this day. For, as 
Jehovah lives, who saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan 
my son, he shall surely die. And not a man among all the, 

*^ people answered him. And he said to all Israel : Be ye on 
one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other 
side. And the people said to Saul : Do what seems good 

135 



Chap. xv. I. SAMUEL. 



^1 to thee. And Saul said to Jehovah Grod of Israel : Give 
a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan v^-ere taken ; and 

*'^ the people escaped. And Saul said : Cast lots between me 

*^ and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken. And 
Saul said to Jonathan : Tell me, what hast thou done ? 
And Jonathan told him, and said : 1 did but taste a little 
honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand ; lo, I 

^^ must die. And Saul answered : God do so and more also, 

^^ for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan. And the people said 
to Saul : Shall Jonathan die, who has wrought this great 
salvation in Israel ? Far be it ! As Jehovah lives there 
shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground ; for he has 
wrought with God this day. And the people rescued Jona- 

*^ than, that he died not. And Saul went up from following 
the Philistines ; and the Philistines went to their own place. 

^'^ And Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against 
all his enemies on every side ; against Moab, and against the 
children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings 
of Zobah, and against the Philistines ; and whithersoever he 

^^ turned, he overcame. And he gathered a host, and smote 
the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them 
that spoiled them. 

*^ And the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Mal- 
chishua ; and the names of his two daughters, the name of 
the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal. 

^° And the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of 
Ahimaaz. And the name of the captain of his host was Ab- 

^^ ner, the son of Ner, Saul's uncle. And Kish was the father 
of Saul ; and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel. 

^2 And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days 
of Saal ; and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant 
man, he took him to himself. 

1 And Samuel said to Saul : Jehovah sent me to anoint thee 
king over his people, over Israel. And now hearken thou to 

2 the voice of the words of Jehovah. Thus says Jehovah of 
Hosts : I call to mind what Amalek did to Israel, how he set 

136 



. I. SAMUEL. Chap. xv. 



2 himself in his way, when he came up out of Egypt. Now 
go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, 
and spare them not ; and slay both man and woman, child 

^ and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. And Saul sum- 
moned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hun- 
dred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. 

^ And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and lay m wait in the 
valley. 

^ And Saul said to the Kenites : Go, depart, go down from 
among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For 
ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they 
came up out of Egypt. And the Kenites departed from 

' among the Amalekites. And Saul smote Amalek from 
Havilah as thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. 

^ And he took Agag the king of Amalek alive ; and all the 

^ people he utterly destroyed with the edge of the sword. And 
Saul and the people spared Agag ; and the best of the sheep, 
and of the oxen, and of the second-birth, and the lambs, and 
all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them ; but 
all cattle that were poor and weakly, them they destroyed 
utterly, 
u And the word of Jehovah came to Samuel, saying : I 
repent that I have made Saul king. For he has turned back 
from following me, and has not executed my words. And 
it grieved Samuel ; and he cried unto Jehovah all the night. 
^2 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And 
it was told Samuel, saying : Saul came to Carmel ; and be- 
hold, he set up for himself a trophy, and turned about and 
1^ passed on, and went down to Gilgal. And Samuel came to 
Saul. And Saul said to him : Blessed be thou of Jehovah ; 
1^ I have executed the word of Jehovah. And Samuel said : 
And what is this bleating of sheep in my ears, and lowing of 
^^ oxen which I hear ? And Saul said : They have brought 
them from the Amalekites. For the people spared the best 
of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice to Jehovah thy 

V. 9. Of the second-hirth ; as superior in strength and beauty. V. 11. 1 repent expresses 

no change in himself, the Unchanging (v. 29); but the depth of his displeasure at the 
change in Saul, and his own change of manner towards him. 

137 



Chap. xv. I. SAMUEL. 



^^ God ; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. And Samuel 
said to Saul : Stay, and I will tell thee what Jehovah has 

1"^ said to me this night. And he said to him : Say on. And 
Samuel said : When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast 
thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and Jehovah 

^^ anointed thee king over Israel ? And Jehovah sent thee on 
the way, and said : Gro, and utterly destroy the sinners, the 
Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed. 

^^ And wherefore didst thou not obey the voice of Jehovah, but 
didst fly upon the spoil, and didst that which is evil in the 

'^ sight of Jehovah ? And Saul said to Samuel : Yea, I have 
obeyed the voice of Jehovah, and have gone the way which 
Jehovah sent me, and have brought Agag the king of 

21 Amalek ; and the Amalekites I have utterly destroyed. But 
the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the 
things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to Jehovah thy God, 

22 in Gilgal. And Samuel said : Has Jehovah delight in burnt- 
offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah ? 
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than 

23 the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and 
willfulness as idolatry and image-worship. Because thou 
hast rejected the word of Jehovah, he has rejected thee from 
being king. 

2^ And Saul said to Samuel : I have sinned ; for I have trans- 
gressed the command of Jehovah, and thy words ; because I 

2^ feared the people, and obeyed their voice. And now pardon, 
I pray thee, my sin. and return with me, that I may worship 

26 Jehovah. And Samuel said to Saul : I will not return with 
thee. For thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, and 

2"^ Jehovah has rejected thee from being king over Israel. And 
Samuel turned about to go away ; and he laid hold of the 

28 skirt of his mantle, and it was rent. And Samuel said to 
him : Jehovah has rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this 
day, and has given it to thy neighbor, who is better than 

2^ thou. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie, and will 

V. 23. Image-worship. Literally, teraphim. See the note on Judges 17 : 5. V. 29. The 

Slrenglh of Israel. Or, the Confidence of Israel. 

138 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. x^. 



30 not repent ; for he is not a man, that he should repent. And 
he said : I have sinned. Honor me now, I pray thee, before 
the elders of my people, and before Israel, and return with 

31 me, that I may worship Jehovah thy God. And Samuel 
returned after Saul ; and Saul worshipped Jehovah. 

32 And Samuel said : Bring hither to me Agag, the king of 
Amalek. And Agag came to him cheerfully. And Agag 

33 said : Surely the bitterness of death is past. And Samuel 
said : As thy sword has made women childless, so shall thy 
mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed 
Agag in pieces before Jehovah, in Grilgal. 

3-^ And Samuel went to Ramah ; and Saul went up to his 
35 house, to Gibeah of Saul. And Samuel saw Saul no more 
to the day of his death. For Samuel mourned for Saul ; and 
Jehovah repented that he made Saul king over Israel. 

1 And Jehovah said to Samuel : How long wilt thou mourn 
for Saul, seeing that I have rejected him from reigning over 
Israel ? Fill thy horn with oil, and go ; I will send thee to 
Jesse the Beth-lehemite, for I have provided me a king 

2 among his sons. And Samuel said : How can I go ? If 
Saul hear it, he will kill me. And Jehovah said : Take a 
heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to Jehovah. 

3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice ; and I will make known to 
thee what thou shalt do ; and thou shalt anoint for me him 

* whom I name to thee. And Samuel did that which Jehovah 
spoke, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the city 
came tremblingly to meet him, and said : Comest thou peace- 

5 ably ? And he said : Peaceably. I am come to sacrifice to 
Jehovah. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sac- 
rifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them 
to the sacrifice. 

^ And it came to pass, as they came, that he saw Eliab ; and 

"' he said : Surely Jehovah's anointed is before him. And 

W. 2, 3. It has been well said by Calvin, that there was no deception in this case. The 
sacrifice was a part, and an essential part of the transaction , both as furnishing an occasion 
for bringing together the family of Jesse, and to add the sanction of a solemn sacrifice to the 
anointing of the future king of God's people 

139 



Chap. xyi. I SAMUEL. 



Jehovah said to Samuel : Look not on his countenance, or 
on the height of his stature ; because I have refused him. 
For [I sec] not as man sees ; for man looks on the outward ap- 

^ pearance, and Jehovah looks on the heart. And Jesse called 
Abhiadab, and made him pass before Samuel.- And he said : 

^ This also Jehovah has not chosen. And Jesse made Shani- 
mah pass by. And he said : This also Jehovah has not 

^^ chosen. And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before 
Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse : Jehovah has not 

^1 chosen these. And Samuel said to Jesse : Are here all thy 
sons ? And he said : There remains yet the youngest ; and, 
behold, he tends the flock. And Samuel said to Jesse : Send 
and fetch him ; for we will not sit down till he comes hither. 

12 And he sent, and brought him in. And he was ruddy, of 
beautiful eyes withal, and goodly to look upon. And Jeho- 

1^ vah said : Arise, anoint him ; for this is he. And Samuel 
took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his 
brothers. And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon David from 
that day forward. And Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. 

1* And the Spirit of Jehovah departed from Saul, and an evil 

1^ spirit from Jehovah troubled him. And SauFs servants said 
to him : Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubles thee. 

1^ Let now our lord command thy servants before thee, and 
they will seek out a man, who is a skillful player on the 
harp. And it shall be, when the evil spirit from God is upon 
thee, that he will play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. 

1"^ And Saul said to his servants : Provide me now a man that 

1^ can play well, and bring him to me. And one of the serv- 
ants answered, and said : Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse 
the Beth-lehemite, who is skillful in playing, and strong and 
valiant, and a man of war, and knowing of speech, and a 
comely person, and Jehovah is with him. 

1^ And Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said : Send me 

2° David thy son, who is with the flock. And Jesse took an 
ass laden with bread, and a skin of wine, and a kid, and sent 

21 them by David his son to Saul. And David came to Saul, 
and stood before him. And he loved him greatly ; and he 

143 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. xvn. 



22 became his armor-bearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying : 
Let David, I pray thee, stand before me ; for he has found 

23 favor in my Sight. And so it was, when the spirit from God 
was upon Saul, that David took the harp, and played with 
his hand ; and Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil 
spirit departed from him. 

1 And the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And 
they were gathered together at Socoh, which belongs to 
Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, at Ephes- 

2 dammim. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered 
together, and encamped in the valley of the oak, and set the 

2 battle in array against the Philistines. And the Philistines 
stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on 
the mountain on the other side ; and the ravme was between 
them. 

* And there went out a champion out of the camp of the 
Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath. His height was six 

^ cubits and a span. And he had a helmet of brass upon his 
head, and he was clothed with a coat of mail ; and the weight 

^ of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. And he had 
greaves of brass on his legs, and a javelin of brass between 

■^ his shoulders. And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's 
beam ; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of 

® iron. And one bearing the shield went before him. And 
he stood, and cried to the ranks of Israel, and said to them : 
Why are ye come out to set your battle in array ? Am not 
I the Philistine, and ye servants to Saul ? Choose ye a man 

^ for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to 
fight with me, and kill me, then will we be your servants ; 
and if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be 

10 our servants, and serve us. And the Philistine said : I defy 
the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may 

11 fight together. And Saul and all Israel heard these words 



V. 4. Champion. One chosen to decide the contest between two contending armies, by 

single combat with a champion chosen by the other side. See vs. 8-10. V. 8. The Philis- 

tine ; the champion of that party in the contest. 

141 



Chap. xvn. I. SAMUEL. 



of the Philistine ; and they were dismayed, and greatly 

afraid. 
^2 And David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth-lehem- 

judah, whose name was Jesse ; and he had eight sons. And 
^^ the man in the days of Saul was old, far gone in years. And 

the three eldest sons of Jesse went after Saul to the battle. 

And the names of his three sons that w^ent to the battle were 

Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third 
^'^ Shammah. And David was the youngest ; and the three 
^^ eldest followed Saul. And David went to and from Saul, to 
1^ tend his father's flock at Beth-lehem. And the Philistine 

drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty 
^^ days. And Jesse said to David his son : Take now for thy 

brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, 
1^ and bring them quickly to the camp to thy brothers ; and 

carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and 
1^ look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. And 

Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley 

cf the Oak, fighting with the Philistines. 
2^ And David rose up early in the morning, and left the flock 

with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse commanded him. 

And he came to the wagon-rampart ; and the host, that was 

21 going forth to battle-array and shouted for the battle. And 
Israel and the Philistines arrayed for battle, army against 

22 army. And David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper 
of the baggage, and ran into the ranks, and came and asked 

2'"^ his brothers of their welfare. And as he talked with them, 
behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, 
Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and 
spoke according to the same words. And David heard them. 
2* And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from 
2^ him, and were sore afraid. And the men of Israel said : 
Have ye seen this man that has come up ? Surely to defy 
Israel has he come up. And it shall be, that the man who 
kills him the king will enrich with great riches ; and he will 

V. 18. And take their pledge ; some token from them, as a pledge, that all is well with them. 
V. 20. Wagon-rainpai'l ; a temporary ontronchment, formed by carap wagons. 

142 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. xvn. 



give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in 

26 Israel. And David spoke to the men that stood by him, say- 
ing : What shall be done for the man that kills this Philistine, 
and takes away the reproach from Israel ? For who is this 
uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of 

2^ the living God ? And the people answered him after this 
manner, saying : So shall it be done for the man that kills 
him. 

28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the 
men ; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he 
said : Why camest thou down hither ? And with whom hast 
thou left that little flock in the wilderness ? I know thy 
pride, and the wickedness of thy heart, for to see the battle 

2^ art thou come down. And David said : What have I done 
now ? Was it not a word ? 

^^ And he turned from him toward another, and spoke after 
the same manner ; and the people answered him again after 

^^ the former manner. And the words were heard which David 
spoke, and they rehearsed them before Saul ; and he sent for 
him. 

^2 And David said to Saul : Let no man's heart fail because 
of him ; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 

^^ And Saul said to David : Thou art not able to go against 
this Philistine, to fight with him ; for thou art a youth, and 

^* he a man of war from his youth. And David said to Saul : 
Thy servant was tending his father's flock ; and there came 
the lion, and also the bear, and took one out of the flock. 

^^ And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it 
out of his mouth ; and when he rose up against me, I caught 

^^ him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy ser- 
vant slew both the lion and the bear ; and this uncircumcised 
Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing that he has defied 

2"^ the armies of the living God. And David said : Jehovah 
who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the 
paw of the bear, he w'.ll deliver me out of the hand of this 

V. 25. Free in Israel ; most probably, from all burdens of the State. V. 34. Two con- 
flicts with wild beasts, at different times, are referred to. 

M3 



Chap. xvn. I. SAMUEL. 



Philistine. And Saul said to David : Go, and Jehovah be 
with thee. 

^^ And Saul clothed David with his war-dress, and he put a 
helmet of brass upon his head ; and he clothed him with a 

^^ coat of mail. And David girded his sword over his war- 
dress, and essayed to go ; for he had not proved them. And 
David said to Saul : I cannot go m these ; for I have not 

^^ proved them. And David put them off from him. And he 
took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones 
out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which 
he had, and in a scrip ; and his sling was in his hand. 

^^ And he drew near to the Philistine. And the Philistine 
came nearer and nearer to David ; and the man that bore 

*2 the shield went before him. And the Philistine looked, and 
saw David ; and he disdained him, for he was a youth, and 

^^ ruddy, and of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said 
to David : Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves ? 

^^ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Phil- 
istine said to David : Come to me, and I will give thy flesh 

^^ to the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. And 
David said to the Philistine : Thou comest to me with sword, 
and with spear, and with javelin. And I come to thee in 
the name of Jehovah of Hosts, the God of the armies of 

*^ Israel, whom thou defiest. This day will Jehovah deliver 
thee into my hand ; and I will smite thee, and take thy head 
from thee ; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the 
Philistines this day to the fowls of the air, and to the wild 
beasts of the earth ; and all the earth shall know that there 

^^ is a God in Israel. And all this multitude shall know that 
Jehovah saves not by sword and spear ; for the battle is 

^^ Jehovah's, and he will give you into our hand. And it 
came to pass, when the Philistine rose, and went and drew 
near to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the 

^^ army to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand into 
the bag, and took thence a stone, and slung it, and smote the 
Philistine in- his forehead, and the stone sunk into his fore- 

V. 40. And in a scrip ; one uamely, for immediate use. 

IM 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. xvni. 



^^ head ; and he fell upon his face to the earth. And David 
prevailed over the Philistine with the sling and with the 
stone, and smote the Phihstine, and slew him ; and there 

^^ was no sword in the hand of David. And David ran, and 
stood upon the Phihstine, and took his sword, and drew it 
out from its sheath, and slew him, and cut off his head there- 
with. And the Philistines saw that their warrior was dead, 

^'-' and they fled. And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, 
and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou comest 
to the ravine, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded 
of the Phihstines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, and 

^^ unto Grath, and unto Ekron. And the children of Israel re- 
turned from chasing after the Philistines ; and they spoiled 

^* their tents. And David took the head of the Philistine, and 
brought it to Jerusalem ; and his armor he put in his tent. 

^^ And when Saul saw David going forth against the Philis- 
tine, he said to Abner, the captain of the host : Whose son 
is this youth, Abner ? And Abner said : As thy soul lives, 

^^ king, I know not. And the king said : Inquire thou 

^' whose son the youth is. And as David returned from the 
slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought 
him before Saul ; and the head of the Philistine was in his 

^^ hand. And Saul said to him : Whose son art thou, young 
man ? And David said : I am the son of thy servant Jesse, 
the Beth-lehemite. 

1 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speak- 
ing to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul 

2 of David ; and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And 
Saul took him on that day, and would not let him return to 

^ his father's house. And Jonathan and David made a cove- 
^ nant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan 

stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it 

to David, and his war-dress, even to his sword, and to his 

bow, and to his girdle. 
^ And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him. He 

behaved himself wisely ; and Saul set him over the men of 

145 



Chap. xvni. I. SAMUEL. 



war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and 
^ also in the sight of Saul's servants. And it came to pass 
as they came, when David returned from the slaughter of the 
Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, 
singing and dancing, to meet Saul the king, with tabrets, with 
^■^ rejoicing, and with triangles. And the women responded, 
one to another as they played, and said : — 

Saul has slain his thousands, 
And David his ten thousands. 

^ And Saul was very wroth, and this saying displeased him ; 

and he said : They have ascribed to David ten thousands, 

and to me they have ascribed thousands. And what can he 
^ have more but the kingdom ? And Saul eyed David enviously 

from that day and forward. 
1^ And it came to pass on the morrow, that an evil spirit from 

God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the 

house. And David played with his hand, as at other times ; 
^^ and there was a javelin in Saul's hand. And Saul cast the 

javelin ; and he said : I will smite David to the wall. And 

David avoided his presence twice. 
^2 And Saul was afraid of David ; for Jehovah was with him, 
^^ and had departed from Saul. And Saul removed him from 

himself and made him his captain over a thousand ; and he 
1* went out and came in before the people. And David behaved 

himself wisely in all his ways ; and Jehovah was with him. 
^^ And Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely ; and he 
^^ was afraid of him. And all Israel and Judah loved David ; 

for he went out and came in before them. 
^^ And Saul said to David : Behold my elder daughter Merab, 

her will I give thee to wife ; only be thou valiant for me, and 

fight Jehovah's battles. For Saul said : Let not my hand be 

upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him. 
^^ And David said to Saul : Who am I ? And what is my life, 

my father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to 

V. 10. And he propliesied. Compare Jer. 29 : 26 : " Every man that is mad, and makes him- 
self a prophet." 

146 



I. SAMUEL. > Chap. xix. 



^^ the king? And it came to pass at the time when Merab 
Saul's daughter was to be given to David, that she was given 

20 to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife. And Michal Saul's 
daughter loved David ; and they told Saul, and the thing 

21 pleased him. And Saul said : I will give her to him, that 
she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philis- 
tines may be against him. And Saul said to David the 
second time : Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law. 

22 And Saul commanded his servants : Speak to David pri- 
vately, and say • Behold, the king has delight in thee, and 
all his servants love thee ; now therefore, be the king's son- 

23 in-law. And Saul's servants spoke these words in the ears 
of David. And David said : Seems it to you a light thing 
to be the king's son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, and 

2'* lightly esteemed? And the servants of Saul told him, say- 

2^ ing * On this manner spoke David. And Saul said : Thus 
shall ye say to David : The king desires not any dowry, but 
a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the 
king's enemies. And Saul thought to make David fall by the 

2^ hand of the Philistines. And his servants told David these 
words ; and it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. 

2"^ And the days were not expired. And David arose and went, 
he and his men, and smote of the Philistines two hundred men. 
And David brought their foreskins ; and they gave them in 
full number to the king, that he might be the king's son-in- 
law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter for a wife. 

2^ And Saul saw and knew that Jehovah was wdth David. 

29 And Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him. And Saul was 
yet the more afraid of David ; and Saul was David's enemy 

30 continually. And the princes of the Phihstines went forth. 
And it came to pass, as often as they went forth, that David 
behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul ; 
and his name was highly prized. 

^ And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, 
2 of putting David to death. And Jonathan, Saul's son, de- 
lighted much in David. And Jonathan told David, saying : 

.147 



Chap. xix. I. SAMUEL. 



?aul, my father, is seeking to kill thee. And now, I pray 
thee,, take heed to thyself to-morrow, and abide in a secret 

^ place, and hide thyself And I will go out, and stand beside 
my father in the field where thou art ; and I will speak of 
thee to my father, and see how it is, and I will tell thee. 

^ And Jonathan spoke good of David to Saul his father, and 
said to him ; Let not the king sin against his servant, against 
David ; because he has not sinned against thee, and because 

^ his acts have to thee been very good ; and he put his life in 
his hand, and smote the Philistine, and Jehovah wrought a 
great salvation for all Israel. Thou sawest it and didst rejoice ; 
and wherefore wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay 

^ David without a cause ? And Saul hearkened to the voice of 
Jonathan ; and Saul swore : As Jehovah lives, he shall not 

"^ be slain. And Jonathan called David ; and Jonathan told 
him all these words. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, 
and he was before him, as in times past. 

^ And there was war again. And David went out, and 
fought against the Philistines ; and he smote them with a 

^ great slaughter, and they fled from him. And an evil spirit 
from Jehovah was upon Saul, as he sat in his house, and his 
javelin was in his hand ; and David was playing with his 

10 hand. And Saul sought to smite David to the wall with the 
javelin ; but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he 
smote the javelin into the wall ; and David fled, and escaped 

1^ that night. And Saul sent messengers to David's house, to 
watch him, and to slay him in the morning. And Michal 
David's wife told him, saying : If thou save not thy hfe to- 
night, to-morrow thou wilt be slain. 

12 And Michal let David down through the window ; and he 

13 went, and fled, and escaped. And Michal took the image, 
and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair at its 

1^ head, and covered it with the coverlet. And Saul sent mes- 
1^ sengers to take David ; and she said : He is sick. And Saul 

VV. 13, 16. The image. Literally, the teraphim. See the note on Judges 17 : 8, and the 
writer's note on Gen. 3;! : 19. It is there seen that the worship of such images was brought 
from Syria. The image might, as in this case, be large enough to counterfeit the human 
foi m, at least the upper part of it. 

143 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. xx. 



sent the messengers to see David, saying : Bring him up to 
1^ me in the bed, that I may slay him. And the messengers 

came in, and behold, the image in the bed, and a pillow of 
i"^ goats' hair at its head. And Saul said to Michal : Why hast 

thou so deceived me, and sent away my enemy, and he has 

escaped ? And Michal answered Saul : He said to me, let me 

go ; why should I kill thee ? 
1^ And David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to 

Ram ah ; and he told him all that Saul had done to him. 
^^ And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. And it was 

told Saul, saying : Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah. 

20 And Saul sent messengers to take David. And they saw the 
company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing 
as leader over them ; and the Spirit of God was upon the 

21 messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. And it was 
told Saul, and he sent other messengers, and they also 
prophesied. And Saul sent the third messengers, and they 

22 also prophesied. And he also went to Ramah, and came to 
the great cistern that is in Sechu. And he asked and said : 
Where are Samuel and David ? And one said : Behold, they 

23 are at Naioth in Ramah. And he went thither, to N'aioth 
in Ramah. And the Spirit of Grod was upon him also, and 
he went on prophesying as he went, until he came to Naioth 

2^ in Ramah. And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too 
prophesied before Samuel, and lay down naked all that day 
and all the night. Therefore they say : Is Saul also among 
the prophets ? 

^ And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said 
before Jonathan : What have I done ? What is my iniquity ? 
And what is my sin before thy father, that he seeks my life ? 

2 And he said to him : Far be it ; thou shalt not die. Behold, 
my father does nothing great or small, but that he reveals it 
to me ; and why should my father hide this thing from me ? 

^ It is not so. And David swore moreover, and said : Thy 

V. 24. His dothes ; hig outer garments. Naked. With only his under-clothing ; as in 

John 21 : 7. 

149 



Chap. XX. I. SAMUEL. 



father certainly knows that I have found favor in thine eyes ; 

and he says : Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved. 

And truly, as Jehovah lives, and as thy soul lives, there is 

^ but a step between me and death. And Jonathan said to 

David : Whatever thy soul shall say, I will do it for thee. 

^ And David said to Jonathan : Behold, to-morrow is the new 

moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But 

let me go, I will hide myself in the field until the third even- 

^ ing. If thy father at all miss me, thou shalt say: David 

earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Beth-lehem 

his city ; for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. 

■^ If he say thus : It is well,— thy servant shall have peace ; 

and if he be very wroth, be sure that evil is determined by 

^ him. And thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant ; for thou 

hast brought thy servant into a covenant of Jehovah with 

thee. And if there be iniquity in me, slay me thyself ; for 

^ why shouldest thou bring me to thy father ? And Jonathan 

said : Far be it from thee. For if I certainly knew that evil 

were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would 

^^ not I tell it to thee ? And David said to Jonathan : Who 
shall tell me ? Or what if thy father answer thee roughly ? 

^^ And Jonathan said to David : Come, and let us go out 
into the field. And they went out both of them into the 

^2 field. And Jonathan said to David : Jehovah, God of Israel, 
if when I have sounded my father about this time to-morrow 
or the third day, and behold, there be good toward David, 
and I then send not to thee, and make it known to thee ; 

^^ Jehovah do so and much more to Jonathan. But if it please 
my father to do thee evil, then I v/ill reveal it to thee, and 
will send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace. And 

^* Jehovah be with thee, as he has been with my father. And 
thou shalt not only while yet I live show me the kindness of 

^^ Jehovah, that I die not ; but thou shalt not cut off thy kind- 
ness from my house forever ; no, not when Jehovah has cut 
off the enemies of David every one from the face of the 

^^ ground. And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of 
David, saying : Let Jehovah require it at the hand of David's 

150 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. xx. 



i'^ enemies. And Jonathan caused David to swear again, be- 
cause he loved him ; for he loved him as he loved his own 

1^ soul. And Jonathan said to him : To-morrow is the new 
moon; and thou wilt be missed, because thy seat will be 

1^ empty. And on the third day thou shalt go down quickly, 
and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself on the 

2^ day of that deed, and phalt remain by the stone Ezel. And 
I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I 

21 shot at a mark. And, behold, I will send the lad, saying : 
Go, find the arrows. If I expressly say to the lad : Behold, 
the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come 
thou, for there is peace to thee, and no hurt, as Jehovah 

22 lives. And if I say thus to the youth : Behold, the arrows 
are beyond thee ; go thy way, for Jehovah has sent thee 

'^^ away. And as to the matter of which I and thou have 
spoken, behold, Jehovah be between me and thee forever. 

-^ And David hid himself in the field. And the new moon 

2^ was come, and the king sat down to the food to eat. And 
the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, the seat by the 
wall. And Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side ; 

2<5 and David's place was empty. And Saul spoke not anything 
on that day. For he thought, something has befallen him, 

2"^ he is not clean ; surely he is not clean. And it came to pass 
on the morrow of the new moon, the second day, that David's 
place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son : 
Wherefore comes not the son of Jesse to the food, neither 

2s yesterday, nor to-day ? And Jo lathan answered Saul : 
David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Beth-lehem. 

29 And he said : Let me go, I pray thee. For we have a family 
sacrifice in the city ; and this my brother, he has bid me do. 
And now, if I have found favor in thine eyes, let me get away, 
I pray thee, and see my brothers. Therefore he comes not 

^^ to the king's table. And Saul's anger was kindled against 
Jonathan, and he said to him : Thou son of the perverse re- 
bellious woman. Do not I know that thou hast chosen the 
son of Jesse to thine own shame, and to the shame of thy 

31 mother's nakedness ? For so long as the son of Jesse lives 

151 



Chap. xxi. I. SAMUEL. 



upon the ground, thou shalt not be estabHshed, nor thy king- 
dom. And now send and fetch him to me ; for he shall 

^2 surely die. And Jonathan answered Saul, his father, and 
said to him : Wherefore shall he be slain ? What has he 

33 done? And Saul cast the javelin at him, to smite him. 
And Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to 

3* slay David. And Jonathan arose from the table in fierce 
anger ; and he ate no food on the second day of the month. 
For he was grieved for David, because his father had done 
him shame. 

35 And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went 
out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a 

3^ little lad with him. And he said to his lad : Run, find now 
the arrows which I shoot. The lad ran, and he shot an ar- 

3"^ row beyond him. And the lad came to the place of the 
arrow which Jonathan shot; and Jonathan cried after the 

38 lad, and said : Is not the arrow beyond thee ? And Jona- 
than cried after the lad : Make speed, haste, stay not. And 
Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his 

3^ master. And the lad knew nothing of it; only Jonathan 

^" and David knew of the matter. And Jonathan gave his 
weapons to his lad, and said to him : Go, carry them to the 
city. 

^1 The lad went. And David arose from the south side, and 
fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times. 
And they kissed one another, and wept one with another, 

^2 until David wept aloud. And Jonathan said to David : Go 
in peace ; as we have sworn both of us in the name of Jeho- 
vah, saying : Jehovah be between me and thee, and between 
my seed and thy seed forever. And he arose and departed ; 
and Jonathan went into the city. 

^ And David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And 
Ahimelech went trembling to maet David ; and he said to 

2 him : Why art thou alone, and no man with thee ? And 
David said to Ahimelech the priest : The king has charged 
me with a business, and has said to me : Let no man know 

162 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. xxi. 



anything of the busmess whereon I send thee, and what I 

have commanded thee. And I have appomted the young 

2 men to such and such a place. And now what is under thy 

hand ? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or what 

^ is found. And the priest answered David, and said : There 
is no common bread under my hand, but there is hallowed 
bread ; if only the young men have kept themselves from 

^ women. And David answered the priest, and said to him : 
Nay, but women have been kept from us about these three 
days, since I came out, and the utensils of the young men 
were holy ; and it is in a manner common, besides that there 

^ will [more] be sanctified this day in the vessel. And the 
priest gave him hallowed bread. For there was no bread 
there but the show-bread, that was taken from before Jeho- 
vah, to place warm bread on the day when it was taken away. 

■^ And a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that 
day, detained before Jehovah ; and his name was Doeg, the 
Edomite, the chief of the herdsmen that belonged to Saul. 

^ And David said to Ahimelech : And is there not here 
under thy hand javelin or sword? For I have brought 
neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the 

^ king's business required haste. And the priest said : The 
sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the 
valley of the Oak, behold, it is wrapped in the cloak behind 
the ephod. If thou wilt take that, take it; for there is no 
other than that here. And David said : There is none like 
that ; give it to me. 

1^ And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and 

^^ went to Achish the king of Gath. And the servants of 
Achish said to him : Is not this David, the king of the land ? 
Did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying : 
Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands ? 

^2 And David laid these words to heart ; and he was sore afraid 

^^ of Achish, the king of Gath. And he disguised his reason 
in their sight, and feigned himself mad in their hand, and 
scrawled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall 

^* down on his beard. And Achish said to his servants : Lo, 

153 



Chap. xxn. I. SAMUEL. 



3^e see the man is mad ; wherefore do ye bring him to me ? 
^^ Have I need of madmen, that ye have brought this fellow to 
play the madman before me ? Shall this fellow come into 
my house ? 

1 And David departed thence, and escaped to the cave of 
Adullam. And his brothers and all his father's house heard 

2 it, and they went down thither to him. And every one that 
was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every 
one that was discontented, gathered themselves to him, and 
he became a captain over them. And there were with him 
about four hundred men. 

3 And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab. And he said 
to the king of Moab : Let my father and my mother, I pray 
thee, come out, and be with you, till I know what God will 

* do for me. And he conducted them before the king of Moab ; 
and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the 
stronghold. 

^ And the prophet Gad said to David : Thou shalt not abide 
in the stronghold. Depart, and come into the land of Judah. 
And David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth. 

^ And Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men 
that were with him. And Saul was sitting at Gibeah under 
the tamarisk-tree on the height, having his javelin in his 

•^ hand, and all his servants were standing about him. And 
Saul said to his servants that stood about him : Hear now, 
ye Benjamites. Will the son of Jesse also give every one 
of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of 

^ thousands, and captains of hundreds ; that all of 3^ou have 
conspired against me, and no one reveals to me that my son 
has made a league with the son of Jesse, and none of you 
is sorry for me, or reveals to me that my son has set up my 
servant against me a waylayer, as at this day ? 

^ And Doeg the Edomite, who was standing by the servants 
of Saul, answered and said : I saw the son of Jesse come to 

V. 6. Was sitting ; in a public gathering of his adherents, for considering the affairs of 
the kingdom. 

154 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. xxn. 



1^ Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. And he mquned of 
Jehovah for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the 

^^ sword of Gohath, the Phihstine. And the king sent to call 
Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's 
house, the priests that were in Nob ; and they came all of 

^2 them to the king. And Saul said : Hear now, thou son of 

^^ Ahitub. And he answered : Here I am, my lord. And Saul 
said to him : Why have ye conspired against me, thou and 
the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a 
sword, and hast inquired of God for him, that he should rise 

^* up against me a waylayer, as at this day. And Ahimelech 
answered the king, and said : And w^ho among all thy ser- 
vants is as David, trusty and the king's son-in-law, and has 

^^ access to thy private ear, and is honored in thy house ? Did 
I that day begin to inquire of God for him ? Be it far from 
me. Let not the king impute anything to his servant, to all 
the house of my father ; for thy servant knew nothing of all 

1^ this, little or great. And the king said : Thou shalt surely 
die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house. 

^"^ And the king said to the runners that stood about him : 
Turn, and slay the priests of Jehovah ; because their hand 
also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and 
did not reveal it to me. And the servants of the king would 
not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of Jehovah. 

1^ And the king said to Doeg : Turn thou, and fall upon the 
priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon 
the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five men that 

^^ wore a linen ephod. And Nob, the city of the priests, he 
smote with the edge of the sword ; both men and women, 
children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with 
the edge of the sword. 

2<^ And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, 

21 named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. And Abia- 
thar made known to David, that Saul had slain the priests 

22 of Jehovah. And David said to Abiathar : I knew on that 
day, that Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely 

V. 17. Runners ; that ran before his chariot (ch. 8 ; H), as a body-guard on the road. 

155 



Chap. xxm. I. SAMUEL. 



make it known to Saul. I am the cause, to all the persons 
23 of thy father's house. Abide thou with me. Fear not ; foi 
he that seeks my life seeks thy life ; for with me thou art 
well guarded. 

^ And they told David, saying : Behold, Philistines are war- 

2 ring against Keilah ; and they rob the threshing-floors. And 
David inquired of Jehovah, saying : Shall I go and smite 
these Philistines ? And Jehovah, said to David : Gro, and 

2 smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. And David's men 
said to him : Behold, we are afraid here in Judah ; and how 
much more if we go to Keilah, against the armies of the 

^ Philistines ? And David inquired of Jehovah yet again. 
And Jehovah answered him and said : Arise, go down to 
' ^ Keilah ; for I will give the Philistines into thy hand. And 
David and his men went to Keilah ; and they fought against 
the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote 
them with a great slaughter. And David saved the inhabit- 

^ ants of Keilah. And it came to pass, when Abiathar, the 
son of Ahimelech, fled to David to Keilah, there came down 
an ephod in his hand. 

' And it was made known to Saul that David was come to 
Keilah. And Saul said : God has given him over into my 
hand ; for he has shut himself in, by entering into a city 

^ that has gates and bars. And Saul summoned all the people 
to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 

^ And David knew that Saul was devising evil against him. 
And he said to Abiathar the priest : Bring hither the ephod. 

^^ And David said : Jehovah, God of Israel, thy servant has 
verily heard that Saul is seeking to come to Keilah, to de- 

^^ stroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver 
me up into his hand ? Will Saul come down, as thy servant 
has heard ? Jehovah, God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy 

^2 servant. And Jehovah said : He will come down. And 
David said : Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my 
men into the hand of Saul? And Jehovah said : They will 
deliver thee up. 

156 



I. SAMUEL. Chap, xxiii. 



13 And David and his men, about six hundred, arose and 
departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could 
go. And it was made known to Saul that David had escaped 

1^ from Keilah ; and he forbore to go forth. And David abode 
in the wilderness in the strongholds, and abode in the mount- 
ain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every 

1^ day ; but God delivered him not into his hand. And David 
saw that Saul was come out to seek his life ; and David was 
in the wilderness of Ziph, in the forest. 

1^ And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went into the forest 

1"^ to David, and strengthened his hand in Grod. And he said 
to him : Fear not. For the hand of Saul my father shall 
not find thee ; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall 

1^ be next to thee ; and that Saul my father also knows. And 
they two made a covenant before Jehovah. And David 
abode in the forest, and Jonathan went to his house. 

1^ And Ziphites came up to Saul to Gribeah, saying : Does 
not David hide himself with us in the strongholds in the for- 
est, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of the 

2^ desert? And now, king, go down, according to all the 
desire of thy soul to go down ; and it shall be our part to 

21 deliver him into the king's hand. And Saul said : Blessed 

2"^ be ye of Jehovah, that ye have compassion on me. Go, I 
pray you ; be heedful still, and know and see his place where 
his haunt is, who has seen him there. For it is told me that 

23 he deals very craftily. And see and know, of all the lurk- 
ing-places where he hides himself, and come ye again to me 
with the certainty, and I will go with you. And it shall be, 
if he is in the land, that I will search him out among all the 

2* thousands of Judah. And they arose, and went to Ziph be- 
fore Saul. And David and his men were in the wilderness 

25 of Maon, in the plain on the south of the desert. And Saul 
and his men went to seek him. And the}^ made it known to 
David ; and he came down to the rock, and abode in the wil- 
derness of Maon. Ar.d Saul heard it, and he pursued after 

26 David in the wilderness of Maon. And Saul went on this 
side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of 

157 



Chap. xxiv. I. SAMUEL. 



the mountain. And David made haste to get away for fear 
of Saul; for Saul and his men closed around upon David 
and his men to take them. 

27 And there came a messenger to Saul, saying : Haste thee, 

28 and come : for Philistines have invaded the land. And Saul 
returned from pursuing after David, and went against the 
Philistines. Therefore they called that place Sela-hammah- 
lekoth. 

29 And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strongholds 
at En-gedi. 

1 And it came to pass, when Saul returned from following 
the Philistines, that it was told him, saying : Behold, David 

2 is in the wilderness of En-gedi. And Saul took three thou- 
sand men chosen out of all Israel, and went to seek David 

2 and his men on the rocks of the wild goats. And he came 
to the sheep-folds on the way ; and a cave was there. And 
Saul went in to cover his feet ; and David and his men were 

^ abiding in the sides of the cave. And the men of David 
said to him : Behold the day of which Jehovah said to thee : 
Behold, I will give thine enemy into thy hand, that thou 
may est do to him as it shall seem good to thee. And David 

^ arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily. And it 
came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him be- 

^ cause he cut off Saul's skirt. And he said to his men : Jeho- 
vah forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, Jehovah's 
anointed, to stretch forth my hand against him, seeing that 

■^ he is the anointed of Jehovah. And David stayed his men 
with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. 
And Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on the way. 

8 And David arose afterward, and went forth out of the 
cave ; and he cried after Saul, saying : My lord, the king ! 
And Saul looked behind him, and David stooped with his 

^ face to the earth, and bowed himself. And David said to 
Saul : Wherefore hearkenest thou to the words of men, say- 

1^ ing : Behold,' David seeks thy hurt ? Behold, this day thine 

V. 28. Sda-hammahlekolh ; meaning, Rock of the escapes. 

158 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. xxv. 



eyes have seen that Jehovah gave thee to-day mto my hand 
m the cave. And some bade me kill thee, but mine eye 
spared thee ; and I said, I will not put forth my hand against 

^^ my lord, for he is Jehovah's anointed. And my father, see, 
yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand. For in that I cut 
off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and 
see that there is no evil nor trespass in my hand, and I have 
not sinned against thee ; and thou huntest my life, to take it. 

^- Jehovah judge between me and thee, and Jehovah avenge 

1^ me of thee ; but my hand shall not be upon thee. As says 
the proverb of the ancients : From the wicked proceeds 

^^ wickedness ; and my hand shall not be upon thee. After 
whom is the king of Israel come out? After whom dost 

1^ thou pursue ? After a dead dog, after a flea. And Jeho- 
vah is judge, and judges between me and thee ; and he will 
see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thy hand. 

^^ And it came to pass, when David made an end of speaking 
these words to Saul, that Saul said : Is this thy voice, my son 

^"^ David ? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. And he 
said to David : Thou art more righteous than I ; for thou hast 
rewarded me with good, and I have rewarded thee with evil. 

1^ And thou hast showed this day that thou dost deal kindly 
with me ; in that when Jehovah delivered me into thy hand, 

^^ thou didst not kill me. For if a man find his enemy, will he 
let him go well away ? Jehovah requite thee with good for 

2^^ what thou hast done to me this day. And now, behold, I 
know that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom 

2^ of Israel shall be established in thy hand. And now swear 
to me by Jehovah, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after 
me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my 

22 father's house. And David swore to Saul. And Saul went 
to his house ; and David and his men went up to the strong- 
hold. 

^ And Samuel died ; and all Israel assembled, and lamented 
him ; and they buried him in his house at Ramah. And 

V. 17. Thou hast rewarded, etc. The meaning, more fully expressed, is :— Thou hast re- 
■Vfarded my evil with good, and I have rewarded thy good with evil. 

159 



Chap. xxv. I. SAMUEL. 



David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran. 

2 And there was a man at Maon, whose possessions were in 
Carmel. And the man was very great ; and he had three 
thousand sheep, and a thousand goats. And he was shear- 

^ ing his sheep in Carmel. And the name of the man was 
^^abal, and the name of his wife Abigail. And the woman 
was of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance ; 
and the man was churlish and evil in his doings. And he 
was of the house of Caleb. 

^ And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shear- 

^ ing his sheep. And David sent out ten young men. And 
David said to the young men : G-o up to Carmel ; and go to 

^ Xabal, and ask after his welfare in my name. And thus 
shall ye say to him : Hail ! Peace be to thee, and peace be 

"^ to thy house, and peace be to all that thou hast. And now 
I have heard that thou hast shearers. JN^ow thy shepherds 
which were with us, we hurt them not, nor was there aught 

^ missing to them, all the while they were in Carmel. Ask 
thy young men, and they will tell thee. And let the young 
men find favor in thine eyes ; for we are come to a festive 
day. Give, I pray Ihee, whatsoever comes to thy hand, to 

^ thy servants and to thy son David. And David's young men 
came, and spoke to N^abal according to all these words, in the 
name of David, and ceased. 

1^ And ^abal answered David's servants, and said : Who is 

David ? And who is the son of Jesse ? There are many 

servants nowadays that break away every man from his 

.1^ master. And shall T take my bread, and my water, and my 

flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men, 

^2 whom I know not whence they are ? And David's young 
men turned to their way, and went back, and came and 
.1^ told him according to all these words. And David said to 
his men : Gird on every man his sword. And they girded 
on every man his sword ; and David also girded on his 
sword. And there went up after David about four hundred 
men ; and two hundred remained by the baggage. 

^^ And one of the young men told Abigail, ^NTabal's wife, say- 

160 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. xxv. 



ing : Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to 

^^ salute our master ; and he railed at them. But the men were 
very good to us, and we were not hurt, nor did we miss any- 
thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we 

^^ were in the field. They were a wall to us both by night and 
by day, all the while we were with them tending the sheep. 

1^ And now know and consider what thou wilt do ; for evil is 
determined against our master, and upon all his household ; 
and he is a bad man, so that one cannot speak to him. 

^^ And Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, 
and two skins of wine, and five sheep ready dressed^ and 
five seahs of parched grain, and a hundred clusters of raisins, 
and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on the asses. 

1^ And she said to her servants : Go on before me ; behold, I 

20 come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal. And 
it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by a 
sheltered part of the mountain, and, behold, David and his 
men were coming down towards her ; and she met them. 

21 Now David had said : Surely in vain have I kept all that this 
fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of 
all that pertained to him ; and he has requited me evil for 

22 good. So and more also do Grod to the enemies of David, if 
of all that pertain to him I leave a male till the morning light. 

23 And Abigail saw David, and she hasted, and alighted from 
the ass ; and she fell before David on her face, and bowed 

2* herself to the ground. And she fell at his feet, and said : On 
me, my lord, be the wrong. And let thy handmaid, I pray, 
speak in thy ears, and hear the words of thy handmaid. 

25 Let not my lord, I pray, have regard to this base man, to 
Nabal ; for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and 
folly is with him ; and I, thy handmaid, saw not the young 

2^ men of my lord, whom thou didst send. And now, my lord, 
as Jehovah lives, and as thy soul lives, Jehovah has with- 
holden thee from coming into blood-guiltiness, that thine own 

V. 18. Senh. A measure of quantity, containing nearly three gallons. V. 22. Meaning : 

So may God do to the enemies of David (so spare them), if I shall spare any of all that pertain 

to him. V. 25. This base man. Only by this truthful admission could she justify or 

excuse the action of David, whom it was her duty to conciliate. I^'abal ; stupid, foolish. 

161 



Chap. xxv. I. SAMUEL. 



hand should help thee. And now let thine enemies, and 

2^ they that seek evil to my lord, be as Xabal. And now this 
present which thy handmaid has brought to my lord, let it 

2s be given to the young men that follow my lord. Forgive, I 
pray thee, the trespass of thy handmaid. For Jehovah will 
certainly make for my lord a sure house ; because my lord 
fights the battles of Jehovah, and evil shall not be found in 

2^ thee, all thy days. And should a man rise up to pursue 
thee, and to seek thy life, let the life of my lord be bound in 
the bundle of life with Jehovah thy God ; and the life of 
thine enemies, that shall he sling out, as in the hollow of a 

30 sling. And it shall be, v^hen Jehovah shall do to my lord 
according to all the good that he has spoken of thee, and 

3^ shall appoint thee ruler over Israel ; that this shall be no 
cause of grief to thee, nor heart-reproach to my lord, that 
thou hast shed blood causelessly, or that my lord was his own 
helper. And when Jehovah shall deal v^ell with my lord, 
then remember thy handmaid. 

32 And David said to Abigail : Blessed be Jehovah, God of 

33 Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me. And blessed be 
thy understanding, and blessed be thou, who hast kept me this 
day from coming into blood-guiltiness, that my own hand 

3"^ should help me. And in truth, as Jehovah, God of Israel 
lives, wdio has kept me back from hurting thee, unless thou 
hadst hasted and come to meet me, there had not a male 

3^ been left to Nabal till the morning light. And David received 
from her hand that which she brought him. And he said to 
her : Go up in peace to thy house ; see, I have hearkened to 
thy voice, and have accepted thee. 

36 And Abigail came to Nabal. And, behold, he held a feast 
in his house, like the feast of a king ; and Nabal's heart was 
merry over it, for he was very drunken. And she told him 

3"^ nothing, little or much, until the morning light. And it 
came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of 
Nabal, that his wife told him these things ; and his heart died 

3s within him, and he became as a stone. And it came to pass 
about ten days after, that Jehovah smote Nabal, and he died. 

162 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. xxyi. 



2^ And David heard that Nabal was dead. And he said : 
Blessed be Jehovah who pleaded the cause of my reproach 
from the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from 
evil ; for Jehovah has returned the wickedness of Nabal 
upon his own head. And David sent and spoke with Abigail, 

*^ to take her to him for a wife. And the servants of David 
came to Abigail to Carmel ; and they spoke to her, saying : 

^1 David sent us to thee, to take thee to him for a wife. And 
she arose, and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and 
said : Behold, thy handmaid is for a servant, to wash the feet 

^'^ of the servants of my lord. And Abigail hasted, and arose, 
and rode upon an ass, with her five damsels that followed 
her. And she went after the messengers of David, and 

*^ became his wife. And David took Ahinoam of Jezreel ; and 
they were both of them his wives. 

*^ And Saul gave Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti 
the son of Laish, who was of Gallim. 

1 And the Ziphites came to Saul, to Gibeah, saying : Does 
not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, before the 

2 desert? And Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness 
of Ziph, and with him three thousand men, chosen men 

^ of Israel, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. And 
Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which is before the 
desert on the way ; and David abode in the wilderness. 
And he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. 

* And David sent out spies, and knew that Saul was certainly 
come. 

^ And David arose, and came to the place where Saul 
encamped. And David beheld the place where Saul lay, and 
Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host. And Saul lay 
in the wagon-rampart, and the people encamped round 

^ about him. And David answered and said to Ahimelech the 
Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, 
saying : Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp ? 

■^ And Abishai said : I will go down with thee. And David 
and Abishai came to the people by night ; and, behold, Saul 

163 



Chap. xxvi. I. SAMUEL. 



lying asleep within the wagon-rampart, and his spear stuck 
in the ground at his head, and Abner and the people lying 

^ round about him. And Abishai said to David : God has 
delivered thine enemy into thy hand this day. And now let 
me, I pray thee, smite through him with the spear into the 

^ earth once, and I will not smite him a second time. And 
David said to Abishai : Destroy him not ; for who stretches 
forth his hand against Jehovah's anointed, and is guiltless ? 

1^ And David said : As Jehovah lives, nay but Jehovah shall 
smite him ; or his day shall come and he shall die ; or he 

11 shall go into battle, and perish. Jehovah forbid that I 
should stretch forth my hand against Jehovah's anointed. 
And now take, I pray thee, the spear that is at his head, and 

12 the cruse of water, and let us go. And David took the spear 
and the cruse of water from the head of Saul. And they 
went away ; and no one saw it, and no one knew it, and no 
one waked ; for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep 
from Jehovah had fallen upon them. 

13 And David passed over to the other side, and stood on the 
top of the mountain afar off; a great space being between 

1* them. And David cried to the people, and to Abner the 
son of Ner, saying : Answerest thou not, Abner ? And 
Abner answered and said : Who art thou that criest to the 

1^ king ? And David said to Abner : Art not thou a man ? 
And who is like to thee in Israel? And wherefore hast 
thou not watched over thy lord the king ? For there came 

1^ in one of the people to destroy the king, thy lord. This 
thing is not good that thou hast done. As Jehovah lives, 
ye are worthy of death, because ye have not watched over 
your master, over Jehovah's anointed. And now see where 
the king's spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his 

1"^ head. And Saul knew David's voice ; and he said : Is this 
thy voice, my son David? And David said : It is my voice, 

1^ my lord, king. And he said : Wherefore does my lord 
pursue after his servant? For what have I done? And 

1^ what evil is in my hand ? And now let my lord the king 
hear, I pray thee, the words of his servant. If Jehovah 

164: 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. xxvn. 



have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering ; 
but if children of men, cursed be they before Jehovah ; for 
they have driven me out this day from abiding in the in- 

20 heritance of Jehovah, saying : Go, serve other gods. And 
now, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of 
Jehovah. For the king of Israel has come out to seek a 
flea, as one hunts the partridge in the mountains. 

21 And Saul said : I have sinned. Return, my son David ; 
for I will no more do thee harm, because my life was precious 
in thine eyes this day. Behold, I have done foolishly, and 

22 have erred exceedingly. And David answered and said : Be- 
hold the king's spear ! And let one of the young men come 

2^ over and fetch it. And Jehovah will render to every man 
his righteousness and his faithfulness. For Jehovah gave 
thee into my hand to-day ; but I would not stretch forth my 

2^ hand against Jehovah's anointed. And, behold, as thy life 
was much prized this day in mine eyes, my life shall be much 
prized in the eyes of Jehovah, and he will deliver me out of 

2^ all tribulation. And Saul said to David : Blessed be thou, 
my son David. Thou wilt both essay great things, and also 
wilt surely prevail. And David went on his way ; and Saul 
returned to his place. 

^ And David said in his heart : I shall now perish some day 
by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than 
that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines ; 
and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the 

2 territory of Israel ; so shall I escape out of his hand. And 
David arose and passed over, he and the six hundred men 
that were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, king of 

^ Gath. And David remained with Achish at Qath, he and 
his men, every man and his household ; David and his two 
wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmel- 

* itess, Nabal's wife. And it was told Saul that David had 
fled to Gath ; and he sought for him no more. 

^ And David said to Achish : If now I have found favor in 
thine eyes, let them give me a place in one of the country- 

165 



Chap, xxvni. I. SAMUEL. 



cities, that I may dwell there. For why should thy servant 

6 dwell in the royal city with thee ? And Achish gave hun 
Ziklag that day. Therefore has Ziklag belonged to the kings 

^ of Judah, to this day. And the time that David dwelt in 
the country of the Philistines was a year and four months. 

^ And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshu- 
rites, and the G-ezrites, and the Amalekites ; for these were 
of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, and 

^ to the land of Egypt. And David smote the land, and saved 
neither man nor woman alive ; and he took sheep, and oxen, 
and asses, and camels, and apparel, and returned, and came 

^^ to Achish. And Achish said : Ye have not made an inroad 
to-day ? And David said : Against the south of Judah, and 
ao:ainst the south of the Jerahmeelites, and to the south of 

^1 the Kenites. And David saved neither man nor woman 
alive, to bring to Gath, saying : Lest they should inform 
against us, saying : So did David, and so will be his manner 
all the while he dwells in the country of the Philistines. 

^2 And Achish confided in David, saying : He has made himself 
utterly abhorred among his people in Israel ; and he shall be 
my servant forever. 

^ And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines 
gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with 
Israel. And Achish said to David : Be assured, that thou 

2 shalt go out with me in the army, thou and thy men. And 
David said to Achish : Therefore, thou shalt know what thy 
servant will do. And Achish said to David : Therefore will 
I make thee keeper of my head forever. 

^ And Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, 
and buried him in Ramah, in his own city. And Saul had 
put away them that had divining-spirits, and the wizards, 

^ out of the land. And the Philistines gathered together, and 
came and encamped in Shunem. And Saul gathered all 

^ Israel together, and they encamped in Gilboa. And Saul 

V. 3. Divining-spiritsi. See the writer's explanatory note on Isaiah 8 : 19, and his note on 
the Hebrew text of the same passage. 

166 



I. SAMUEL. Chap, xxyih. 



saw the host of the Phihstiiies, and he was afraid, and his 

^ heart greatly trembled. And Saul inquired of Jehovah ; 
and Jehovah answered him not, neither bj dreams, nor by 
Urim, nor by the prophets. 

■^ And Saul said to his servants : Seek for me a w^oman that 
has a divining-spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of 
her. And his servants said to him : Behold, a woman that 

^ has a divining-spirit is at En-dor. And Saul disguised him- 
self, and put on other raiment, and went, he and two men 
with him, and they came to the woman by night. And he 
said : Divine for me, I pray thee, by the divining-spirit, and 

^ bring up for me Jiim whom I shall name to thee. And the 
woman said to him : Behold, thou knowest what Saul has 
done ; that he has cut off them that have divining-spirits, 
and the wizards, out of the land. Wherefore then layest 

1^ thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die ? And Saul 
swore to her by Jehovah, saying : As Jehovah lives, there 

^^ shall no punishment befall thee for this thing. And the 
woman said : Whom shall I bring up to thee ? And he 

12 said : Bring me up Samuel. And the woman saw Samuel, 
and she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said 
to Saul : Why hast thou deceived me ? For thou art Saul. 

13 And the king said to her : Be not afraid ; for what seest 
thou ? And the woman said to Saul : I see a god coming 

1* out of the earth. And he said to her : What form is he of? 
And she said : An old man comes up ; and he is covered 
with a robe. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and 
he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. 

1^ And Samuel said to Saul : Why hast thou disquieted me, 
to bring me up ? And Saul said : I am sore distressed ; for 
the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed 
from me, and answers me no more, neither by prophets, nor 
by dreams ; and I have called thee, that thou mayest make 

1^ known to me what I shall do. And Samuel said : Wherefore 



V. (J. Ur'uti. See the note on Ex. 28 : 30 ; and compare Num. 27 : 21. V. 13. A god. 

A.ny supernatural being, or one from the other world, might be so termed. V. 14. A robe. 

The priest's robe, worn under the ephod. bee the description of it in Ex. 28 : 31-34. 

167 



Chap, xxvul I. SAMUEL. 



then dost thou ask of me, seeing that Jehovah is departed 

^^ from thee, and is become thine enemy ? And Jehovah has 
done for himself, as he spoke by me ; for Jehovah has rent 
the kingdom out of thy hand, and given it to thy neighbor, 

^^ to David. As thou didst not obey the voice of Jehovah, nor 
execute his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore has Jehovah 

^^ done this thing to thee this day. And Jehovah will give 
Israel also with thee into the hand of the Philistines ; and 
to-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me ; the host of 
Israel also will Jehovah give into the hand of the Philistines. 

20 And Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was 
sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel. And there 
was no strength in him ; for he had eaten no bread all the 
day, nor all the night. 

2^ And the woman came to Saul, and saw that he was sore 
troubled ; and she said to him : Behold, thy handmaid has 
obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and 
have hearkened to thy words which thou hast spoken to me. 

22 And now, I pray thee, hearken thou also to the voice of thy 
handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee ; and 
eat, that thou mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy 

23 way. But he refused, and said : I will not eat. And his ser- 
vants constrained him, and also the woman ; and he hearkened 

W. 7-20. The transactions here recorded have been the occasion of much speculation, and 
many theories have been devised to account for them. In Dr. Schaflf's American edition of 
Lange's Critical, Doctrinal, and Historical Commentary, a full statement of these speculations 
and theories is given in Vol. V. on the Old Testament, edited with great ability and learning 
by Professors C. H. Toy and J. A. Broadus. 

It may be safely assumed that the woman was a noted impostor, who practiced on the 
credulity of the weak and ignorant by her deceptive arts, expressly forbidden in the Divine 
law (Lev. 20 : 6), as inconsistent with a truly religious spirit, and therefore sinful as well as 
corrupting. In the narrative itself the following facts are to be particularly noted : — 

1. The woman was ignorant of the person of her visitor. 

2. She was herself terrified at the apparition which she pretended she had power to call up. 

3. It was not visible to Saul, and he identified Samuel from her description of what she saw. 
So much is clear from the narrative. Whatever was supernatural, therefore, must have 

been present only to the mind of the woman ; for what her eyes could see could be seen by 
the eyes of Saul. If such were the case, she was made the instrument of a communication to 
Saul through what seemed, in her mental conception, an apparition of the prophet. 

Divine wisdom has at other times made use of similar instruments, as in the case of Balaam. 
Num. 23 : 5, " Jehovah put a word in Balaam's mouth " ; 24 : 4, " who heard the words of God, 
who saw the vision of the Almighty." No sanction was given to Saul's unauthorized visit to 
the sorceress. The instrument he used in violation of law, was made the instrument of hia 
humiliation and punishment. 

168 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. xxix. 



to their voice. And he arose from the earth, and sat on the 
2* couch. And the woman had a fatted calf in the house ; and 

she hasted, and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and 
2*^ baked unleavened bread thereof. And she brought it before 

Saul, and before his servants ; and they ate. Then they rose 

up, and went away that night. 

^ And the Philistines gathered all their armies to Aphek ; 

2 and Israel encamped by the fountain that is in Jezreel. And 
the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by 
thousands ; and David and his men passed on in the rear 

^ with Achish. And the princes of the Philistines said : What 
do these Hebrews ? And Achish said to the princes of the 
Philistines : Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king 
of Israel, who has been with me these days, or these years, 
and I have found no fault in him since he fell away to me, 

^ unto this day? And the princes of the Philistines were 
wroth with him ; and the princes of the Philistines said to 
him : Let the man return, and go back to his place which 
thou hast appointed him ; and let him not go down with us 
to the battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us. For 
wherewith shall he make himself acceptable to his master? 

^ Is it not with the heads of these men ? Is not this David, of 
whom they sang one to another in dances, saying : Saul slew 
his thousands, and David his ten thousands ? 

^ And Achish called David, and said to him : Surely, as 
Jehovah lives, thou art upright, and thy going out and thy 
coming in with me in the camp is good in my sight. For I 
have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming to 

^ me unto this day ; but the lords favor thee not. And now 
return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of 
the Philistines. 

^ And David said to Achish : But what have I done ? And 
what hast thou found in thy servant, so long as I have been 
with thee unto this day, that I may not go and fight the 

^ enemies of my lord the king? And Achish answered and 
said to David : I know that thou art good in my sight, as an 

169 



Chap. xxx. I. SAMUEL. 



10 



angel of God. Only the princes of the Philistines have said : 
He shall not go up with us to the battle. And now, rise up 
early in the morning, with thy master's servants that are 
come with thee ; and as soon as ye are up early in the morn- 
^1 ing and have light, depart. And David rose up early, he 
and his men, to depart in the morning, to return into the 
land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to 
Jezreel. 



^ And it came to pass, when David and his men were come 
to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded 
the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it 

2 with fire. And they had taken captive the women that were 
therein, both small and great ; they slew not any, but carried 
them off, and went on their way. 

3 And Dcxvid and his men came to the city, and behold, it 
was burned with fire ; and their wives, and their sons, and 

* their daughters, were taken captives. Then David, and the 
people that were with him, lifted up their voice and wept, 

^ until they had no more power to weep. And David's two 
wives were taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and 

^ Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. And David was 
in a great strait ; for the people thought to stone him, because 
the soul of all the people was embittered, every man for his 
sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in 

'^ Jehovah his God. And David said to Abiathar the priest, 
Ahimelech's son : Bring me, I pray thee, the ephod. And 

^ Abiathar brought the ephod to David. And David inquired 
of Jehovah, saying : Shall I pursue after this troop ? Shall 
I overtake them ? And he answered him : Pursue ; for thou 

9 shalt surely overtake, and without fail recover. And David 
went, he and the six hundred men that were with him ; and 
they came to the brook Besor, where those that were left 

1^ behind stayed. And David pursued, he and four hundred 
men ; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so faint that 
tliey could not go over the brook Besor. 

1^ And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him 

170 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. xxx. 



to David. And they gave him bread, and he ate, and they 

12 gave him water to drink ; and they gave him a piece of a 
cake of figs, and two cakes of raisins. And he ate, and his 
spirit returned to him ; for he had not eaten bread, nor drunk 

1^ water, three days and three nights. And David said to him : 
To whom belongest thou ? And whence art thou ? And he 
said : I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite ; 
and my master left me, because three days ago I fell sick. 

1^ We made an invasion in the south of the Cherethites, and 
upon that which belongs to Judah, and upon the south of 

1^ Caleb ; and we burned Ziklag with fire. And David said to 
him : Wilt thou bring me down to this troop ? And he said : 
.Swear to me by Grod, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor 
deliver me into the hand of my master, and I will bring thee 
down to this troop. 

1^ And he brought him down ; and behold, they were spread 
abroad over the whole land, eating and drinking, and dancing, 
because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of 
the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. 

^'^ And David smote them from the dawn unto the evening of 
the next day. And there escaped not a man of them, save 
four hundred young men, who rode upon camels, and fled. 

1^ And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried 

1^ away. And David recovered his two wives. And there was 
nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons 
nor daughters, nor spoil, nor anything that they had taken to 

20 them. David brought back all. And he took all the flocks 
and the herds ; which they drove before those cattle, and 
said : This is David's spoil. 

21 And David came to the two hundred men, who were so 
faint that they could not follow David, and were left behind 
at the brook Besor. And they went forth to meet David, 
and to meet the people that were with him ; and David came 

22 near to the people, and saluted them. Then answered all 

V. 20. Before those cattle. Cattle of the same kind. David's spoil consisted of the flocks 
and herds belonging to the Amalekites ; and these were driven in advance of cattle recovered 
from them. That David returned with abundant " spoil of the enemies of Jehovah " (v, 26), 
is evident from vs. 26-31. 

171 



Chap. xxxi. I. SAMUEL. 



the wicked and worthless men, of those that went with David, 
and said : Because they went not with us, we will not give 
them of the spoil that we have recovered ; save to every man 
his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and 

23 depart. And David said : Ye shall not do so, my brethren, 
with that which Jehovah has given us, and has preserved us, 

2* and given the troop that came against us into our hand. And 
who will hearken to you in this matter ? For as his part is 
that goes down to the battle, so shall his part be that remains 

2^ by the baggage ; they shall share alike. And it was so from 
that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance 
for Israel unto this day. 

26 And David came to Ziklag. And he sent of the spoil to 
the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying : Behold a present 

2^ for you, of the spoil of the enemies of Jehovah ; to them 
who were in Beth-el, and to them who were in Ramoth- 

28 negeb, and to them who were in Jattir, and to them who 
were in Aroer, and to them who were in Siphmoth, and to 

29 them who were in Eshtemoa, and to them who were in 
Bachal, and to them who were in the cities of the Jerah- 
meelites, and to them who were in the cities of the Kenites, 

3^ and to them who were in Hormah, and to them who were in 
3^ Chor-ashan, and to them who were in Athach, and to them 

who were in Hebron ; and to all the places which David 

frequented, he and his men. 

1 And the Philistines fought against Israel. And the men 
of Israel fled before the Philistines, and fell down slain in 

2 mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul 
and upon his sons ; and the Philistines smote Jonathan, and 

3 Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul's sons. And the battle went 
hard against Saul, and the archers, men with bows, hit him ; 

* and he was sore afraid of the archers. And Saul said to his 
armor-bearer : Drav/ thy sword, and thrust me through there- 
with ; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, 
and abuse me. - But his armor-bearer would not ; for he was 

^ sore afraid. And Saul took the sword, and fell upon it. And 

172 



I. SAMUEL. Chap. xxxi. 



his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead ; he also fell upon 

^ his sword, and died with him. And Saul died, and his three 
sons, and his armor-bearer, yea, all his men, that same day 
together. 

■^ And the men of Israel that were beyond the plain, and 
that were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel 
fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead ; and they forsook 
the cities and fled, and the Philistines came and dwelt in 

^ them. And it came to pass, on the morrow, that the Philis- 
tines came to strip the slain ; and they found Saul and his 

^ three sons fallen in mount Gilboa. And they cut off his 
head, and stripped off his armor, and sent into the land of 
the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their 

^^ idols, and among the people. And they put his armor in the 
house of Ashtaroth ; and they fastened his body to the wall 
of Beth-shan. 

^^ And the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard of that which 

^2 the Philistines had done to Saul. And all the valiant men 
arose, and went all night ; and they took the body of Saul 
and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and 

1^ came to Jabesh, and burned them there. And they took 
their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk at Jabesh; 
and they fasted seven days. 

V. 10. In the house of Ashtaroth. See the writer's note on Gen. 14 : 5. 

173 



THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL. 

1 And it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David 
had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, that 

2 David abode in Ziklag two days. And it came to pass on 
the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp 
from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head. 
And so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the 

^ earth, and bowed himself. And David said to him : From 
whence comest thou ? And he said to him : Out of the 

^ camp of Israel am I escaped. And David said to him : How 
went the matter ? Tell me, I pray thee. And he said : The 
people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also 
are fallen and are dead ; and Saul and Jonathan his son are 

^ dead also. And David said to the young man that told him : 
How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead ? 

^ And the young man that told him said : I happened by 
chance upon mount Gilboa, and, behold, Saul leaned upon 
his spear ; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard 

■^ after him. And he looked behind him, and saw me, and he 

^ called to me. And I said : Here am I. And he said to me : 
Who art thou ? And I said to him : I am an Amalekite. 

^ And he said to me : Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay 

me ; for the anguish is come upon me, for my life is yet whole 

^^ in me. Av^ I stood upon him, and slew him, because I 

knew that he would not live after he had fallen. And I took 

V. 1. And it came to pass. The narrative is here resumed and continued, from the last 
two chapters of the preceding book. "The two streams of narrative in ch. xxx. and in eh. 
xxxi. form their confluence in this chapter." (llie Speaker's (Jommeutarij.) 

V. 9. The anguish ; of defeat and impending death. According to others, perplexit}', con- 
fusion of mind, unknowing what to do. 

V. 10. After he hud fallen ; under the weapons of his pursuers,— The true account of Saul's 
death is given in 1 Sam. 31 : 4. The story of the Amalekite, with the exception of his strip- 
ping the bodiea of the dead, was invented by him, ia expectation of a reward from David. 

174 



II. SAMUEL. Chap, l 



the crown that was on his head, and the bracelet that was on 
^^ his arm, and have brought them hither to my lord. Then 
David took hold of his clothes, and rent them ; and also all 
12 the men that were with him. And they mourned, and wept, 
and fasted until the evening, for Saul, and for Jonathan his 
son, and for the people of Jehovah, and for the house of 
Israel ; because they had fallen by the sword. 
1^ And David said to the young man that told him : Whence 
art thou ? And he said : I am the son of a stranger, an 
1* Amalekite. And David said to him : How wast thou not 
afraid to stretch forth thy hand to destroy Jehovah's anointed ? 
1^ And David called one of the young men, and said : Gro near, 
1^ fall upon him. And he smote him, that he died. And David 
said to him : Thy blood be upon thy head ; for thy mouth 
has testified against thee, saying : I have slain Jehovah's 
anointed. 
1"^ And David lamented with this lamentation, over Saul and 
1^ over Jonathan his son. And he bade them teach the chil- 
dren of Judah the [song of] The Bow. Behold, it is written 
in the book of the righteous. 

19 The beauty of Israel is slain on thy high places. 

How are the mighty fallen ! 

20 Tell it not in Gath ; 

Publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon ; 
Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, 
Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. 

21 Ye mountains in Gilboa, 

Let there be no dew, and no rain upon you, 

Nor fields of offerings. 

For there the shield of the mighty was vilely cast away, 

The shield of Saul as if un-anointed with oil. 

22 From the blood of the slain, 
From the fat of the mighty, 

The bow of Jonathan turned not back, 
^ And the sword of Saul returned not empty. 



k 



Saul and Jonathan, 

The lovely and pleasant in their lives, 



v. 18. The [sorig of] The Bow, So called from the word "bow" in v. 22. It was a con- 
venient mode of reference, when there was no division of chapter and verse. 

V. 21. Fields of offerings. Offerings of the first-fruits, Ex. 23 : 19, and 34 : 26. Hence fertile 
fields, from which such offerings were made. 

175 



Chap. n. II. SAMUEL. 



And in their death not divided ! 
They were swifter than eagles ; 
They were stronger than lions. 

24 Daughters of Israel, weep over Saul ; 
"Who clothed you in scarlet, with [other] delights ; 
Who put ou ornaments of gold on your apparel. 

25 How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle ; 
Jonathan, slain in thy high places ! 

26 I am distressed for thee my brother Jonathan. 
Very pleasant hast thou been to me ; 

Wonderful thy love to me, passing the love of women. 

27 How are the mighty fallen, 

And the weapons of war perished ! 

1 And it came to pass after this, that David inquired of 
Jehovah, saying : Shall I go up into one of the cities of 
Judah ? And Jehovah said to him : Go up. And David 
said : Whither shall I go up ? And he said : Unto Hebron. 

2 And David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam 
^ the Jezreelitess, and Abigail wife of the Carmelite. And 

his men that were with him did David bring up, every man 
with his household ; and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. 

* And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David 
king over the house of Judah. 

And they told David saying : The men of Jabesh-gilead 

^ were they that buried Saul. And David sent messengers to 
the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them : Blessed be ye 
of Jehovah, that ye have showed this kindness to your lord, 

^ to Saul, and have buried him. And now Jehovah show 
kindness and truth to you ; and I also will requite you this 

■* goodness, because ye have done this thing. And now let 
your hands be strong, and be ye valiant. For your master 
Saul is dead ; and also the house of Judah have anointed 
me king over them. 

^ But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, took 
Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahan- 

^ aim. And he made him king over Gilead, and over the 
Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over 

1^ Benjamin, and over all Israel. Fort}^ years old was Ish- 
bosheth, Saul's son, when he began to reign over Israel ; and 

176 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. n. 



he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed 
^^ David. And the time that David was king in Hebron over 

the house of Judah was seven years and six months. 
^2 And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth 

the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gribeon. 
^^ And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, 

went out, and they met together by the pool of Gibeon. 

And they sat down, these on this side of the pool, and those 
^* on that side of the pool. And Abner said to Joab : Let the 

young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said : 
1^ Let them arise. Then there arose and went over by number, 

twelve for Benjamin and for Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and 
1^ twelve of the servants of David. And they caught every 

one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword into his 

fellow's side ; and they fell down together. And that place 
^"^ was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon. And the 

battle was very hard on that day ; and -Abner was beaten, 

and the men of Israel, before the servants of David. 
1^ And three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, and Abishai, 

and Asahel. And Asahel was as light of foot as the wild roe. 
^^ And Asahel pursued after Abner ; and he turned not to go 
20 to the right hand or to the left from following Abner. Then 

Abner looked behind him, and said : Art thou Asahel ? And 
2^ he said, I am. And Abner said to him : Turn aside to thy 

right hand or to thy left, and lay hold of one of the young 

men, and take for thee his armor. But Asahel would not 

22 turn aside from following him. And Abner said again to 
Asahel : Turn aside from following me. Wherefore should 
I smite thee to the ground ? How then should I hold up my 

23 face to Joab thy brother? But he refused to turn aside. 
And Abner, with the hinder end of the spear, smote him 
under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him ; and 
he fell down there, and died on the spot. And so it was, 
that all who came to the place, where Asahel fell down and 

2^ died, stood still. And Joab and Abishai pursued after 
Abner. And the sun went down when they came to the hill 

V. 16, Helkath-hazzurim ; field of Bwords. 

177 



Chap. hi. II. SAMUEL. 



of Ammah, that lies before Giah on the way to the wilder- 
ness of Gibeon. 

2^ And the children of Benjamin gathered together after 
Abner, and became one troop, and stood on the top of a hill. 

2^5 Then Abner called to Joab, and said : Shall the sword de- 
vour forever ? Knowest thou not that it will be bitterness 
at the last ? How long shall it. be then, ere thou bid the 

2"^ people return from following their brethren? And Joab 
said : As God lives, if thou hadst not spoken, surely then in 
the morning the people had gone up, every one from follow- 

2^ ing his brother. And Joab blew a trumpet, and all the 
people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither 

'^^ fought they any more. And Abner and his men went all 
that night through the plain, and passed over the Jordan, 
and went through all the defile, and came to Mahanaim. 

^^ And Joab returned from following Abner. And he gath- 
ered all the people together, and there lacked of David's 

^1 servants nineteen men, and Asahel. But the servants of 
David had smitten of Benjamin and among Abner's men ; 
three hundred and threescore men were dead. 

32 And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre 
of his father, which was in Beth-lehem. And Joab and his 
men went all the night, and came to Hebron at break of day. 

1 And the war was long between the house of Saul and the 
house of David. And David grew stronger and stronger, 
and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker. 

2 And sons were born to David in Hebron. His firstborn 

3 was Amnon, of Ahihoam the Jezreelitess ; and his second 
Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmehte ; and 
the third Absalom, the son of Maacah the daughter of Tal- 

* mai king of Geshur ; and the fourth Adonijah the son of 

^ Haggith ; and the fifth Shephatiah the son of Abital ; and 

the sixth Ithream, by Eglah David's wife. These were born 

to David in Hebron. 

^ And it came to pass, while there was war between the 

. house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner made 

■^ himself strong for the house of Saul. And Saul had a con- 

178 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. m. 



cubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. 
And [Ish-bosheth] said to Abner : Wherefore hast thou gone 

8 in unto my father's concubine ? Then was Abner very wroth 
for the words of Ish-bosheth. And he said : Am I a dog's 
head, who for Judah do show kindness this day to the house 
of Saul thy father, to his brethren, and to his friends, and 
have not dehvered thee into the hand of David, that thou 

^ this day dost charge on me a fault with the woman ? So do 
God to Abner and more, unless as Jehovah has sworn to 

^ David, so I shall do to him ; to transfer the kingdom from 
the house of Saul ; and to set up the throne of David over 

11 Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beer-sheba. And 
he could not answer Abner a word more, because he feared 
him. 

12 And Abner sent messengers in his stead to David, saying : 
Whose is the land ? Saying : Make thy league with me : 
and behold, my hand shall be with thee, to turn all Israel to 
thee. 

1^ And he said : Well, I will make a league with thee. But 
one thing I require of thee, that is : Thou shalt not see my 
face, except thou first bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when 

1* thou comest to see my face. And David sent messengers to 
Ish-bosheth Saul's son, saying : Give me my wife Michal, 
whom I espoused to me for a hundred foreskins of the Phihs- 

1^ tines. And Ish-bosheth sent, and took her from her husband, 

1^ from Phaltiel the son of Laish. And her husband went with 
her, weeping behind her, to Bahurim. Then said Abner to 
him : Go, return. And he returned. 

1"^ And Abner had communication with the elders of Israel, 
saying : Ye sought for David in times past to be king over 

^® you. And now do it. For Jehovah has spoken of David, 
saying : By the hand of my servant David will I save my 
people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of 

^^ the hand of all their enemies. And Abner also spoke in the 
ears of Benjamin. And Abner went also to speak in the 

V. 8. Who for Judah. As though aU that follows could be regarded as a aeryice rendered 
to that kingdom. 

179 



Chap. in. II. SAMUEL. 



ears of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel, and 
20 to the whole house of Benjamin. And Abner came to David 
to Hebron, and twenty men with him. And David made a 
2^ feast to Abner, and the men that were with him. And 
Abner said to David : I will arise and go, and will gather 
all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a league 
with thee, and that thou mayest roign over all that thy soul 
desires. And David let Abner go ; and he went in peace. 

22 And, behold, the servants of David, and Joab, came from 
the troop, and brought in great spoil with them. But Abner 
was not with David in Hebron ; for he had let him go, and 

23 he went away in peace. And Joab came, and all the host 
that was with him. And they told Joab, saying : Abner the 
son of Ner came to the king ; and he has let him go, and he 

2-^ went away in peace. And Joab came to the king, and said : 
What hast thou done ? Behold, Abner came to thee ; why 

2^ is it that thou hast let him go, and he is quite gone ? Thou 
knowest Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive thee, 
and to know thy going out and thy coming in, and to know 

2^ all that thou doest. And Joab went out from David ; and 
he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back 

2"^ from the well of Sirah ; but David knew it not. And Abner 
returned to Hebron. And Joab took him aside to the mid- 
dle of the gate-way, to speak with him quietly. And he 
smote him there under the fifth rib, that he died, for the 
blood of Asahel his brother. 

28 And David afterward heard it. And he said : I and my 
kingdom are guiltless before Jehovah forever, of the blood 

2^ of Abner the son of Ner. Let it come down on the head of 
Joab, and on all his father's house ; and let there not fail 
from the house of Joab one that has an issue, or that is a 
leper, or that leans on a staff, or that falls by the sword, or 

30 that lacks bread. So Joab and Abishai his brother slew 
Abner, because he had slain their brother Asahel, at Gibeon 
in the battle. 

3^ And David said to Joab, and to all the people that were 
with him : Rend your clothes, and gird on sackcloth, and 

180 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. iv. 



mourn before Abner. And David the king followed the bier. 
22 And they buried Abner in Hebron. And the king lifted up 

his voice, and wept at the grave of Abner ; and all the people 
^^ wept. And the king lamented over Abner, and said : — 

Should Abner die as the godless dies? 
34 Thy hands were not bound, 

Nor thy feet put in fetters. * 

As one falls before the wicked. 
Thou didst fall. 

3^ And all the people wept yet more for him. And all the 

people came to cause David to eat food while it was yet day. 

And David swore, saying : So do God to me, and more also, 
^6 if I taste bread, or aught else, till the sun go down. And 

all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them ; as 
2"^ whatsoever the king did pleased all the people. And all the 

people and all Israel knew on that day, that it was not of 

38 the king to slay Abner the son of Ner. And the king said 
to his servants : Know ye not that a prince and a great man 

39 has fallen this day in Israel? And I am this day weak, 
though £:nointed king ; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, 
are too hard for me. Jehovah reward the doer of evil 
according to his evil. 

^ And Saul's son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron ; 

2 and his hands were feeble, and all Israel was troubled. And 
Saul's son had two men that were captains of bands. The 
name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other 
Rechab, the sons of Rimmon a Beerothite, of the children 
of Benjamin ; for Beeroth also was reckoned to Benjamin. 

3 And the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and were sojourners 
^ there unto this day. And Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a 

son that was lame in his feet. He was five years old when 
the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezree), and 
his nurse took him up, and fled ; and it came to pass, as she 
made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his 

V. 34. Thy hands were not hound. Meaning :— thou diedst, not bound and fettered, as a 
malefactor justly doomed to death ; but covertly, by the assassin's stroke. 

181 



Chap. v. II. SAMUEL. 



^ name was Mephibosheth. And the sons of Rimmon the 
Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the 
heat of the day to the house of Ish-bosheth. And he was 

^ lymg down for rest at noon-day. And they came thither 
mto the midst of the house, as though to fetch wheat. And 
they smote him under the fifth rib ; and Rechab and Baanah 

■^ his brother escaped. And they came into the house, and he 
was lying on his bed in his sleeping chamber. And they 
smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him ; and they took 

^ his head, and went by the way of the plain all night. And 
they brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron. 
And they said to the king : Behold the head of Ish-bosheth 
the son of Saul thy enemy, who sought thy life ; and Jeho- 
vah has avenged my lord the king this day, of Saul and of 
his seed. 

^ And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the 
sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them : As Jeho- 
vah lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity ; 
^^ when one told me, saying : Behold, Saul is dead, thinking 
that he brought good tidings, I laid hold of him, and slew 
^^ him in Ziklag, to give him a reward for his tidings. How 
much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous man in 
his own house upon his bed ? And now shall I not require 
his blood at your hand, and take you away from the earth ? 
And David commanded the young men, and they slew them, 
and they cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them 
up by the pool in Hebron. And they took the head of Ish- 
bosheth, and buried it in the sepulchre of Abner in Hebron. 



12 



^ And there came all the tribes of Israel to David at Hebron, 
and spoke, saying: Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. 

2 Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he 
that led forth and brought in Israel. And Jehovah said to 
thee : Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be 

^ captain over Israel. So all the elders of Israel came to the 

V. 7. The plain, of the river Jordan and the Dead Sea. See the writer's description of it, 
page 79 of his x evised version of Genesis. 

182 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. v. 



king at Hebron ; and king David made a league with them 
in Hebron before Jehovah ; and they anointed David king 
over Israel. 
^ David was thirty years old when he began to reign ; and 
^ he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah 
seven years and six months ; and in Jerusalem he reigned 
'thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah. 
^ And the king and his men went to Jerusalem, to the 
Jebusite, inhabiting the land. And he spoke to David, say- 
ing : Thou shalt not come in hither, but the blind and the lame 
will turn thee away, saying : David shall not come in hither. 
■^ And David took the stronghold of Zion ; the same is the city 
^ of David. And David said on that day : Any one that 
smites a Jebusite, and gets to the water-course, and the lame 
and the blind hated of David's soul — . Therefore they say : 
^ Blind and lame shall not come into the house. And David 
dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the city of David. 
^^ And David built round about from Millo and inward. And 
David became greater and greater ; and Jehovah, God of 
hosts, was with him. 

11 And Hiram, king of Tyre, sent messengers to David, and 
cedar-trees, and carpenters, and masons; and they built a 

12 house for David. And David perceived that Jehovah had 
established him as king over Israel, and that he had exalted 
his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. 

1^ And David took more concubines and wives out of Jeru- 
salem, after he came from Hebron. And yet more sons and 

1* daughters were born to David. And these were the names 
of those born to him in Jerusalem ; Shammuah, and Shobab, 

1^ and Nathan, and Solomon, and Ibhar, and Elishua, and Ne- 

1^ pheg, and Japhia, and Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphalet. 

VV. 6 and 8. See the writer's article, Gutter, in the American edition of Smith's Bible 
Dictionary. Confident in their impregnable position, they sneeringly said to David, " the 
blind and the lame will turn thee away ;" needing only to say, "David shall not come in 
hither." When the water-course was seized, which supplied water to the beseiged, the strong- 
hold would soon be reduced. For the omission indicated by the pointing { .), see the 

note on 1 Sam. 12 : 14. 

V. 9. MUlo. A tower protecting, apparently, an exposed corner of the city wall, and after- 
wards rebuilt or strengthened from time to time. See 1 K. 9 ; 15, 24, and 11 : 27 i 2 Ch. 32 : 5. 

183 



Chap. vi. II. SAMUEL. 



1^ And the Philistines heard that they had anointed David as 
king over Israel ; and all the Philistines came up to seek 
David. And David heard of it, and went down to the strong- 
^^ hold. And the Philistines came, and spread themselves in 
^'•^ the valley of Rephaim. And David inquired of Jehovah, 
saying : Shall I go up against the Philistines ? Wilt thou 
deliver them into my hand ? And Jehovah said to David : 
Go up, for I will certainly deliver the Philistines into thy 

20 hand. And David came to Baal-perazim ; and David smote 
them there. And he said : Jehovah has broken my enemies 
before me, like the breaking forth of waters. Therefore he 

21 called the name of that place Baal-perazim. And they left 
there their images ; and David and his men took them away. 

22 And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread them- 

23 selves in the valley of Rephaim. And David inquired of 
Jehovah, and he said : Thou shalt not go up. Go around to 
their rear, and come to them over against the mulberry trees. 

2* And it shall be, when thou hearest the sound of marching in 
the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt make 
haste ; for then will Jehovah go out before thee, to smite 

25 the host of the Philistines. And David did so, as Jehovah 
commanded him ; and he smote the Philistines from Geba 
until thou comest to Gazer. 

^ And again David gathered all the chosen men of Israel, 
thirty thousand. 

2 And he arose and went, David and all the people that 
were with him, from Baale of Judah, to bring up from 
thence the ark of God, the name of which is called by the 
name of Jehovah of hosts who sits above the cherubim. 

3 And they conveyed the ark of God on a new cart. And 
they took it out of the house of Abinadab that was on the 
hill ; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, guided the 

v. 23. Mulberry-trees. Or, baca-trees. V. 24. The sound of marching ; as of the foot- 
steps of an army in motion ; a signal that Jehovah was already going before them to the 

assault. V 2. And he arose. This was at some time subsequent to the one referred to 

in the preceding verse: The journey to Baale, though not mentioned, is implied in the 
narrative. 

184 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. vi. 

* new cart. And they took it out of the house of Abinadab 

which was on the hill, with the ark of Grod ; and Ahio went 
^ before the ark. And David, and all the house of Israel, 

played before Jehovah on all manner of instruments of fir 

wood, on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on 

cornets, and on cymbals. 
^ And they came to Nachon's threshing-floor, and Uzzah put 

forth his hand to the ark of Grod, and took hold of it ; for 
"^ the oxen shook it. And the anger of Jehovah was kindled 

asrainst Uzzah. And God smote him there for the offense ; 
^ and he died there by the ark of Grod. And David was 

grieved, because Jehovah made a breach upon Uzzah ; and 

he called the name of the place Perez-uzzah to this day. 
^ And David was afraid of Jehovah on that day ; and he said : 
^^ How shall the ark of Jehovah come to me ? So David would 

not remove to him the ark of Jehovah into the city of David ; 

and David carried it aside, into the house of Obed-edom the 

11 Gittite. And the ark of Jehovah continued in the house of 
Obed-edom the Gittite three months. And Jehovah blessed 
Obed-edom, and all his household. 

12 And it was told to David the king, saying : Jehovah has 
blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that are his, because 
of the ark of God. And David went and brought up the 
ark of God, from the house of Obed-edom into the city of 

1^ David, with gladness. And it was so, when they that bore 
the ark of Jehovah had gone six paces, that he sacrificed an 

1* ox and a fatted calf. And David danced before Jehovali 
with all his might ; and David was girded with a linen ephod. 

1^ So David, and all the house of Israel, brought up the ark of 

1^ Jehovah with shouting, and with sound of trumpet. And 
the ark of Jehovah came into the city of David. And 
Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked through a window, and 
saw David the king leaping and dancing before Jehovah ; 
and she despised him in her heart. 

1^ And they brought in the ark of Jehovah, and set it in its 
place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had set up 

V. 8. Ferez-uzzah, Breach of Uzzah. 

185 



Chap. vn. II. SAMUEL. 



for it. And David offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings 

1^ before Jehovah. And when David had made an end of 

offering the burnt-offerings and the peace-offerings, he blessed 

^^ the people in the name of Jehovah of hosts. And he dealt 

out to all the people, to the whole multitude of Israel, as 

well to the women as to the men, to every one a cake of 

bread, and a piece of flesh, and a cake of raisins. So all 

the people departed every one to his house. 

2^ And David returned to bless his household. And Michal, 

the daughter of Saul, came out to meet David, and she 

said : How glorious the king of Israel made himself to-day ; 

who uncovered himself to-day in the eyes of the handmaids of 

his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovers 

21 himself! And David said to Michal : Before Jehovah, — 
who chose me above thy father, and above all his house, to 
appoint me ruler over the people of Jehovah, over Israel, — 

22 before Jehovah have I played. And I will humble myself 
yet more than this, and will be base in my own sight. And 
of the maidservants whom thou hast spoken of, of them shall 

23 I be held in honor. And Michal, the daughter of Saul, had 
no child to the day of her death. 

1 And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and 
Jehovah had given him rest round about from all his ene- 

2 mies ; that the king said to Nathan the prophet : See now, I 
dwell in a house of cedar ; and the ark of God dwells within 

3 the curtain. And Nathan said to the king : Go, do all that 
is in thy heart ; for Jehovah is with thee. 

* And it came to pass that night, that the word of Jehovah 

^ came to Nathan, saying : Go and tell my servant David, thus 
says Jehovah : Shalt thou build me a house for me to dwell 

^ in ? For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I 
brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, and to this 
day, but have gone about in a tent that was my dwelling. 

^ In all the places where I have gone with all the children of 
Israel, spoke I -a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom 
I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying : Why do ye 

186 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. vii. 



® not build for me a house of cedar ? And now so shall thou 
say to my servant, to David. Thus says Jehovah of hosts : 
I took thee from the pasture, from following the flock, to be 
^ prince over my people, over Israel. And 1 was with thee 
whithersoever thou wentest ; and I have cut off all thy ene- 
mies from before thee, and have made for thee a great name, 

^^ like the name of the great men that are on the earth. And 
I will appoint a place for my people, for Israel, and will 
plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be 
troubled no more ; nor shall the children of wickedness afflict 

^1 them any more, as before time, and as from the time that I 
commanded judges over my people Israel ; and I give thee 
rest from all thy enemies. And Jehovah tells thee, that 
for thee Jehovah will build a house. 

^2 When thy days are fulfilled, and thou liest down with thy 
fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed 

^^ out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He 
shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the 

^^ throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, 
and he shall be to me a son ; that if he commit iniquity, I 
will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes 

^^ of the children of men ; but my mercy shall not depart from 
him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before 

^^ thee. And thy house and thy kingdom shall be stable forever 

^^ before thee ; thy throne shall be established forever. Accord- 
ing to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did 
Nathan speak to David, 

^^ And David the king went in, and sat before Jehovah. 
And he said : Who am I, Lord Jehovah? And what is 

^^ my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto ? And this 
was yet a small thing in thy sight, Lord Jehovah ; and 
thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while 
to come. And is this the manner of man, Lord Jehovah ? 

2^ And what shall David say more to thee ? For thou, Lord 

21 Jehovah, knowest thy servant. For thy word's sake, and 
according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this great- 

22 ness, to make it known to thy servant. Therefore thou art 

187 



Chap. vm. II. SAMUEL. 



great, Jehovah, God. For there is none hke thee, and 
there is no God besides thee, according to all that we have 

2^ heard with our ears. And what one nation in the earth is 
like thy people, like Israel ; whom God went to redeem to 
himself for a people, and to make for himself a name, and 
to do for you things great and terrible, for thy land before 
thy people, whom thou didst redeem to thee from Egypt, 

2* from the nations and their gods. And thou hast confirmed 
to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee forever ; 

2^ and thou, Jehovah, hast become their God. And now, 
Jehovah, God, the word which thou hast spoken concerning 
thy servant, and concerning his house, establish thou forever, 

26 and do as thou hast said. And let thy name be magnified 
forever, saying : Jehovah of hosts is God over Israel ; and 
let the house of thy servant David be established before thee. 

2"^ For thou, Jehovah of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to 
thy servant, saying : A house will I build for thee. There- 
fore has thy servant found it in his heart to pray this prayer 

2s unto thee. And now, Lord Jehovah, thou art God, and 
thy words are truth, and thou hast spoken of this goodness 

29 to thy servant. And now let it please thee to bless the house 
of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee. For 
thou, Lord Jehovah, hast spoken it ; and with thy blessing 
shall the house of thy servant be blessed forever. 

1 And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philis- 
tines, and subdued them. And David took Metheg-ammah 

2 out of the hand of the Philistines. And he smote Moab. 
And he measured them with the line, making them lie down 
on the ground. He measured off two lines to put to death, 
and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became 
David's servants, and brought tribute. 

3 And David smote Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of 
Zobah, as he went to recover his power at the river Euphrates. 

^ And David took from him a thousand and seven hundred 
horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen. And David houghed 
all the chariot-horses, reserving of them a hundred chariot- 

188 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. ix. 



^ horses. And the Syrians of Damascus came to succor 

Hadadezer king of Zobah ; and David slew of the Syrians 

^ two and twenty thousand men. And David put garrisons in 

Syria of Damascus. And the Syrians became servants to 

David, and brought tribute. And Jehovah preserved David, 

^ whithersoever he went. And David took the shields of gold 

that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them 

* to Jerusalem. And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities 

of Hadadezer, David the king took very much brass. 
^ And Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all 

^^ the host of Hadadezer. And Toi sent Joram his son to 
David the king, to salute him, and to bless him, because he 
had fought against Hadadezer, and smitten him ; for Hadad- 
ezer had wars with Toi. And in his hand were vessels of 

^^ silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass. Them also 
king David dedicated to Jehovah, with the silver and gold 
that he had dedicated of all the nations which he subdued ; 

'^ of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and 
of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadad- 

^^ ezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah. And David made himself 
a name when he returned from smiting the Syrians in the 
valley of salt, eighteen thousand men. 

1* And he put garrisons in Edom ; through all Edom he put 
garrisons, and all Edom became David's servants. And 

^^ Jehovah preserved David whithersoever he went. And 
David reigned over all Israel ; and David executed judgment 

^^ and justice to all his people. And Joab the son of Zeruiah 
was over the host ; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was 

^■^ recorder ; and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the 

^^ son of Abiathar, were priests ; and Seraiah was scribe ; and 
Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the executioners and 
the couriers ; and David's sons were princes. 

^ And David said : Is there yet any that is left of the house 
of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake ? 

V. 16. Recorder. "The king's annalist, whose duty it was to record the deeds of the king, 
and the events of his reign." V. 18. Benaiah— ovei- the executioners. See 1 Kings 2 : 25. 

189 



Chap. ix. II. SAMUEL. 



2 And there was of the house of Saul a servant, whose name 
was Ziba. And they called Ihm to David, and the king said 
to him : Art thou Ziba ? And he said : Thy servant is he. 

^ And the king said : Is there not yet any of the house of 
Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him ? A'nd 
Ziba said to the king : There is yet a son of Jonathan, lame 

^ in his feet. And the king said to him : Where is he ? And 
Ziba said to the king : Behold, he is in the house of Machir, 
the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar. 

^ Then king David sent, and brought him out of the house 

^ of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. And Mephibo- 
sheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David ; 
and he fell on his face, and bowed himself. And David 
said : Mephibosheth ! And he answered : Behold thy 
servant ! 

■^ And David said to him : Fear not. For I will surely show 
thee kindness for the sake of Jonathan thy father ; and I will 
restore to thee all the land of Saul thy father ; and thou shalt 

^ eat bread at my table continually. And he bowed himself, 
and said : What is thy servant, that thou lookest on the dead 
dog, such as I am ? 

^ Then the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to 

him : All that belonged to Saul, and to all his house, I have 

1^ given to thy master's son. And till the ground for him, thou 

and thy sons, and thy servants ; and thou shalt bring in the 

fruits, that thy master's son may have food to eat ; but 

Mephibosheth thy master's son shall always eat food at my 

table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons, and twenty servants. 

^^ And Ziba said to the king : According to all that my lord 

the king shall command his servant, so will thy servant do. 

And Mephibosheth [said the king], eats at my table, as one 

^2 of the king's sons. And Mephibosheth had a little son, whose 

name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba 

^^ were servants to Mephibosheth. So Mephibosheth dwelt in 

Jerusalem ; for he ate continually at the king's table. And 

he was lame in both his feet. 

190 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. x. 



^ And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children 
of Ammon died ; and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. 

2 Then said David : I will show kindness to Hanun the son of 
Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me. And David 
sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants, for his father. 
And David's servants came into the land of the children of 

2 Ammon. And the princes of the children of Ammon said 
to Hanun their lord : Thinkest thou that David does honor to 
thy father, that he has sent comforters to thee ? Is it not 
to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it, that 

* David has sent his servants to thee ? And Hanun took 
David's servants, and shaved off the one-half of their beards, 
and cut off their garments in the middle, to their hips, and 

^ sent them away. They told it to David, and he sent to meet 
them, because the men were greatly ashamed. And the 
king said : Tarry at Jericho until your beards are grown, 
and then return. 

^ And the children of Ammon saw that they had made 
themselves abhorred by David. And the children of Ammon 
sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-rehob, and the Syrians of 
Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah a 
thousand men, and the men of Tob twelve thousand men. 

■^ And David heard of it ; and he sent Joab, and all the host, 

^ the mighty men. And the children of Ammon came out, 
and put the battle in array at the entrance of the gate ; and 
the Syrians of Zoba, and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and 

^ Maacah, were by themselves in the field. And Joab saw 
that the front of the battle was against him before and behind. 
And he chose from all the choice men of Israel, and put them 

^^ in array against the Syrians. And the rest of the people he 
gave into the hand of Abishai his brother, that he might put 

^^ them in array against the children of Ammon. And he said : 
If the Syrians are too strong for me, then thou shalt help me ; 
but if the children of Ammon are too strong for thee, then I 

^2 will come to help thee. Be strong, and let us strengthen 
ourselves for our people, and for the cities of our God ; and 

191 



Chap. xi. II. SAMUEL. 



^^ Jehovah do that which is good in his sight. And Joab drew 
nigh, and the people that were with him, to the battle against 

^* the Syrians ; and they fled before him. And the children of 
Amnion saw that the Syrians fled ; and they fled before 
Abishai, and entered into the city. And Joab returned from 
the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem. 

^^ And the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel ; 

^^ and they gathered themselves, all together. And Hadarezer 
sent, and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river. 
And they came to Helam, and Shobach the captain of the 

^'^ host of Hadarezer before them. And it ^vas told David ; 
and he gathered all Israel together, and passed over the 
Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set them- 

1^ selves in array against David, and fought with him. And 
the Syrians fled before Israel. And David slew of the 
Syrians seven hundred chariot-men and forty thousand 
horsemen ; and he smote Shobach the captain of his host, 
and he died there. And all the kings that were servants of 
Hadarezer saw that they were smitten before Israel ; and 
they made peace with Israel, and served them. And the 
Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more. 



19 



1 And it came to pass, at the return of the year, at the time 
when kings go forth, that David sent Joab, and his servants 
with him, and all Israel ; and they wasted [the land of] the 
children of Ammon, and laid siege to Rabbah. But David 
abode in Jerusalem. 

2 And it came to pass at evening-time, that David arose from 
■ his couch, and walked upon the roof of the king's house. 

And from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and 
2 the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David 

sent and inquired after the woman. And they said : Is not 

this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah 
^ the Hittite ? And David sent messengers, and took her ; and 

she came to him, and he lay with her. And she purified 

V. 2. Ecenitig-time. "The evening began at three o'clock in the afternoon. The midday 
siesta, which David had 'as usual been taking [ch. 4 : 5], would probably be over about this 
time, when he arose from his couch." (Speaker's Commentary.) 

192 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. xi. 



herself from her uncleanness, and returned to her house. 

^ And the woman conceived ; and she sent and told David, 
and said : I am with child. 

^ And David sent word to Joab : Send me Uriah the Hittite. 

^ And Joab sent Uriah to David. And Uriah came to him. 
And David inquired how Joab fared, and how the people 

^ fared, and how the war prospered. And David said to Uriah : 
Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah de- 
parted out of the king's house ; and there followed him a 

* mess of food from the king. But Uriah slept at the door of 
the king's house, with all the servants of his lord, and went 

^0 not down to his house. And they told David, saying : Uriah 
went not down to his house. And David said to Uriah : 
Hast thou not come from a journey ? For what reason didst 

^^ thou not go down to thy house ? And Uriah said to David : 
The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents ; and my lord 
Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open 
field ; and shall I go into my house, to eat and to drink, and 
to lie with my wife ? As thou livest, and as thy soul lives, I 

^- will not do this thing. And David said to Uriah : Tarry 
here to-day also, and to-morrow I will let thee depart. So 

^^ Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow. And 
David called him, and he ate and drank before him ; and he 
made him drunk. And at evening he went out, to lie on his 
bed with the servants of his lord, and went not down to his 
house. 

^^ And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a 
letter to Joab ; and he sent it by the hand of Uriah. And 
he wrote in the letter, saying : Set ye Uriah in the forefront 
of the hottest battle, and retire ye from behind him, that he 
may be smitten, and die. And it came to pass, as Joab 
watched the city, that he put Uriah in the place where he 

^"^ knew that there were valiant men. And the men of the city 
went out, and fought with Joab. And there fell some of the 
people, of the servants of David ; and Uriah the Hittite died 
also. 



1.5 



10 



V. 10. For what reason. Literally, what knowing; the natural suggeation ojf ap ftccusing 
conscience. 

193 



Chap. xn. n. SAMUEL. 



1^ And Joab sent and told David all the matters of the war. 

^^ And he charged the messenger, saying : When thou hast 
made an end of telling all the matters of the war to the 

2Q king ; and if it be that the king's wrath shall rise, and he 
shall say to thee : Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the 
city, when ye fought ? Knew ye not that they would shoot 

21 from the wall? Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerub- 
besheth ? Did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon 
him from the wall, that he died in Thebez ? Why went ye 
nigh the wall ? Then say thou : Thy servant, Uriah the 
Hittite, is dead also. 

2^ So the messenger went. And he came and told David all 

23 that Joab sent him for. And the messenger said to David : 
The men were strong against us, and came out to us into the 
field ; and we were upon them unto the entrance of the gate. 

21 And the archers shot from off the wall upon thy servants ; 
and some of the king's servants died, and thy servant, Uriah 

25 the Hittite, is dead also. And David said to the messenger : 
Thus shalt thou say to Joab : Let not this thing displease 
thee ; for the sword devours one as well as another. Make 
thy battle strong against the city, and overthrow it ; and do 
thou encourage him. 

26 And the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was 

27 dead ; and she mourned for her husband. And when the 
mourning was past, David sent, and received her to his house. 
And she became his wife, and bore him a son. And the 
thing that David had done was evil in the sight of Jehovah. 

y And Jehovah sent Nathan to David. And he came to 
him, and said to him : There were two men in one city ; the 

2 one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had very many 

3 flocks and herds. And the poor man had nothing, save one 

Ch. xi. 2-27. What a record of crime ! But if any are disposed to think lightly of the moral 
teachings of the Old Testament, let them ponder well this story of human weakness and 
depravity, and the swil't vengeance that fell on the wrong-doer, and followed him to the grave. 
Uriah fell by the sword, at David's bidding ; and at God's bidding, the sword never departed 
from the house of David. Through God's abounding grace true penitence followed ; and it 
found utterance as never before, or since. The evil David did recoiled upon himself; and 
God has made it a lesson for all after ages. 

194: 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. xii. 



little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up. 
And it grew up together with him, and with his children ; it 
ate of his own morsel, and drank of his own cup, and lay in 

* his bosom, and was to him as a daughter. And there came 
a traveler to the rich man. And he spared to take of his 
own flock, and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring 
man that was come to him ; and he took the poor man's 

^ lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. And 
David's anger was greatly kindled against the man. And he 
said to Nathan : As Jehovah lives, the man that has done 

^ this shall surely die. And he shall restore the lamb fourfold; 
because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. 

^ And Nathan said to David : Thou art the man. Thus says 
Jehovah, God of Israel : I anointed thee king over Israel, 

^ and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul ; and I gave 
thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy 
bosom ; and I gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah ; 
and if that were too httle, I would moreover have given to 

^ thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised 
the word of Jehovah, to do that which is evil in his sight ? 
Uriah the Hittite thou hast smitten with the sword, and hast 
taken his wife to be thy wife ; and him thou hast slain with 

^^ the sword of the children of Ammon. And now the sword 
shall not depart from thy house forever ; because thou hast 
despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to 

11 be thy wife. Thus says Jehovah : Behold, I will raise up 
evil against thee out of thine own house ; and I will take 
thy wives before thine eyes, and give them to thy neighbor, 

12 and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For 
thou didst it secretly ; but I will do this thing before all 

13 Israel, and before the sun. And David said to Nathan : I 
have sinned against Jehovah. And Nathan said to David : 
Jehovah has also put away thy sin ; thou shalt not die. 

1* Nevertheless, because by this deed thou hast given the 
enemies of Jehovah great occasion to blaspheme, the child 
also that is born to thee shall surely die. 

1^ And Nathan departed to his house. And Jehovah struck 

195 



Chap. xii. II. SAMUEL. 



the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it was very 

^^ sick. And David besought God for the child ; and David 

^^ fasted, and came and lay all night upon the ground. And 

the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him 

up from the ground ; but he would not, nor did he eat food 

^^ with them. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that 

the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him 

that the child was dead ; for they said : Behold, while the 

child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he would not 

hearken to our voice ; and how will he vex himself, if we 

1^ tell him that the child is dead ? And David saw that his 

servants were whispering together ; and David perceived that 

the child was dead. And David said to his servants : Is the 

2^ child dead ? And they said, he is dead. Then David arose 

from the ground, and washed, and anointed himself; and he 

changed his apparel, and came into the house of Jehovah, 

and worshipped. And he came to his own house ; and he 

^^ asked, and they set bread before him, and he ate. Then 

said his servants to him : What is this thing that thou hast 

done ? Whilst the child hved, thou didst fast and weep ; but 

22 when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat food. And 
he said : While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept ; 
for I said : Who knows, whether Jehovah will be gracious 

23 to me, that the child may live ? But now he is dead, where- 
fore should I fast ? Can I bring him back again ? I shall 
go to him, but he will not return to me. 

2* And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in to 
her, and lay with her. And she bore a son, and he called 

25 his name Solomon. And Jehovah loved him. And he sent 
by the hand of Nathan the prophet ; and he called his name 
Jedidiah, on account of Jehovah. 

2<^ And Joab fought against Kabbah of the children of 

2"^ Ammon, and took the royal city. And Joab sent mes- 
sengers to David, and said : I have fought against Rabbah, 

28 and have taken the city of waters. And now gather the 
rest of the people, and encamp against the city, and take it ; 



V. 25. Jedidiah ; beloved of Jehovah. 

196 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. xm. 



"^ lest I take the city, and it be called after my name. And 
David gathered all the people, and went to Rabbah, and 

^^ fought against, and took it. And he took their king's crown 
off from his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold, 
and the precious stones ; and it was set on David's head. 
And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abun- 

^^ dance. And he brought forth the people that were therein ; 
and he put them to saws, and to threshing-sledges of iron, 
and to axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick- 
kiln ; and thus did he to all the cities of the children of 
Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jeru- 
salem. 

^ And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of 
David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar, and Amnon 

2 the son of David loved her. And Amnon was so troubled 
that he fell sick for his sister Tamar ; for she was a virgin, 
and Amnon thought it hard for him to do anything to her. 

^ But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the 
son of Shimeah David's brother. And Jonadab was a very 

* artful man. And he said to him : Why art thou so lean, 
thou king's son, morning by morning ? Wilt thou not tell 
me ? And Amnon said to him : I love Tamar, my brother 

^ Absalom's sister. And Jonadab said to him : Lay thee down 
on thy bed, and feign thyself sick. And when thy father 
comes to see thee, say to him : I pray thee, let my sister 
Tamar come, and give me food, and dress the food in my 
sight, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand. 

^ So Amnon lay down, and feigned himself sick. And the 
king came to see him ; and Amnon said to the king : I pray 
thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple of 

■^ cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand. And David 
sent to the house to Tamar, saying : Go now to the house of 

^ thy brother Amnon, and prepare food for him. And Tamar 
went to the house of her brother ; and he was lying down. 
And she took the dough, and kneaded it, and made cakes in 

V. 30. Talent ; three thousand shekela. or about a hundred pounds. 

197 



Chap. xni. II. SAMUEL. 



^ his sight, and baked the cakes. And she took the pan, and 
poured them out before him ; but he refused to eat. And 
Amnon said : Cause every man to go out from me. And they 

^^ went out every man from him. And Amnon said to Tamar : 
Bring the food into the chamber, that I may eat from thy 
hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and 

^^ brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. And 
she brought them near to him to eat ; and he took hold of 

^^ her, and said to her : Come, he with me, my sister. And 
she said to him : Nay, my brother, do not humble me ; for 
such a thing should not be done in Israel ; do not this folly. 

^^ And I, whither shall I carry my reproach ? And as for thee, 
thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. And now speak, 
I pray thee, to the king ; for he will not withhold me from 

^^ thee. And he w^ould not hearken to her voice ; and he over- 
powered her. and humbled her, and lay with her. 

^^ Then Amnon hated her with exceedingly great hatred ; 
for his hatred of her was greater than his love had been for 

^^ her. And Amnon said to her : Rise up, be gone. And she 
said to him : There is no cause. This evil is greater than the 
other that thou didst to me, to send me away. But he would 

^■^ not hearken to her. And he called his servant that waited on 
him, and said : Send ye this woman out from me on the street, 

^^ and bolt the door after her. And she had on a full length 
garment ; for with such robes were the king's daughters that 
were virgins apparelled. And his servant brought her out 
on the street, and bolted the door after her. 

^^ And Tamar took ashes on her head, and the full length 
garment that was on her she rent, and put her hand on her 

20 head, and went on crying as she went. And Absalom her 
brother said to her : Has Amnon thy brother been with thee ? 
And now, my sister, hold thy peace ; he is thy brother. Lay 
not this thing to heart. So Tamar remained, solitary, in the 
house of her brother Absalom. 

v. 18. A full length gminerd ; covering the whole person, the body of the garment extend- 
ing to the feet, and the sleeves to the wrists. Such garments were worn only by those exempted 

from manual labor, and were indicative of rank and wealth. On tlie contrary, the ordinary 

dress, worn by those engaged in active employments, extended but little below the knee, the 
sleeves reaching onlv to the elbow. The wriin^'fi note on Gen. 37 : 3. 

i98 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. xni. 



21 And king David heard of all these things ; and he was 

22 yevy wroth. And Absalom spoke with his brother Amnon 
neither good nor bad. For Absalom hated Amnon, because 
he had humbled his sister Tamar. 

23 And it came to pass after two years, that Absalom had 
sheep-shearers in Baal-hazor, which is beside Ephraim. And 

2* Absalom invited all the king's sons. And Absalom came to the 

king and said : Behold now, thy servant has sheep-shearers ; 

let the king, I pray thee, and his servants go with thy servant. 
25 And the king said to Absalom : Nay, my son, let us not all go, 

lest we be burdensome to thee. And he pressed him ; but 
2^ he would not go, and he blessed him. Then said Absalom : 

If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And 
2^ the king said to him : Why should he go with thee ? And 

Absalom pressed him ; and he let Amnon and all the king's 

sons go with him. 
28 And Absalom commanded his servants, saying : Mark ye 

now when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and I say to 

you, smite Amnon ; then kill him, fear not ; have not I com- 
2^ manded you ? Be strong, and be valiant. And the servants 

of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom commanded. Then 

all the king's sons rose t.ip, and rode every man on his mule, 

and fled. 
2^ And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that 

tidings came to David : Absalom has slain all the king's sons, 

21 and not one of them is left. And the king arose, and tore 
his garments, and lay on the earth ; and all his servants stood 

^2 by with their garments rent. And Jonadab, the son of 
Shimeah David's brother, answered and said : Let not my 
lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the 
king's sons, for Amnon only is dead ; for on the lips of Absa- 
lom has it been purposed from the day that he humbled his 

22 sister Tamar. And now let not my lord the king take the 
thing to heart, thinking that all the king's sons are dead ; 

2* for Amnon only is dead. And Absalom fled. And the 
young man that kept watch raised his eyes, and saw, and, 
behold, there came much people by the way behind him, 

199 



Chap. xiv. II. SAMUEL. 



^^ from the mountain's side. And Jonadab said to the king : 

Behold, the king's sons are coming ; as thy servant said, so 
^^ it is. And it came to pass, as he made an end of speaking, 

that, behold, the king's sons came, and they lifted up their 

voice and wept ; and the king also, and all his servants, wept 

with great lamentation. 
2*^ And when Absalom fled, he went to Talmai, the son of 

Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his 
^^ son every day. And Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and 
^'•^ was there three years. And the soul of king David longed 

to go forth to Absalom ; for he was comforted concerning 

Amnon, seeing that he was dead. 

^ And Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king^s 

2 heart was toward Absalom. And Joab sent to Tekoah, and 
took thence a wise woman, and said to her : I pray thee, 
feign thyself a mourner, and put on mourning apparel, and 
anoint not thyself with oil, and be as a woman that has a 

^ long time mourned for the dead ; and come to the king, and 
speak to him in this manner. And Joab put the words in 
her mouth. 

* And the woman of Tekoah spoke to the king. And she 
fell on her face to the ground, and bowed herself, and said : 

^ Help, king. And the king said to her : What wilt thou ? 
And she said : I am verily a widow woman, and my husband 

^ is dead. And thy handmaid had two sons. And they two 
strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, 

' the one smote the other, and slew him. And, behold, the 
whole family rose against thy handmaid, and said : Give up 
him that smote his brother, and we will kill him, for the life 
of his brother whom he slew ; and we will destroy the heir 
also ; and they will quench my coal which is left, so as not 
to leave my husband name or remnant on the face of the 

^ earth. And the king said to the woman : Go to thy house, 

^ and I will give charge concerning thee. And the woman of 
Tekoah said to the king : On me, my lord, king, be the 
iniquity, and on my father's house, and the king and his 

200 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. xiv. 



^^ throne be guiltless. And the king said : Whosoever says 
aught to thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee 

^^ any more. Then said she : Let the king, I. pray thee, re- 
member Jehovah thy God, that the avenger of blood may 
not destroy yet more, and that they destroy not my son. 
And he said : As Jehovah lives, there shall not one hair of 

^2 thy son fall to the earth. And the woman said : Let thy 
handmaid, I pray thee, speak a word to my lord the king. 

^^ And he said : Speak. And the woman said : And why hast 
thou thought such a thing against the people of God ? For 
the king speaks this thing as one that is faulty, in that the 

^* khig does not bring back his banished one. For we must 
needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, that cannot 
be gathered up ; and God does not take away life, and he 

^^ considers how he shall not thrust the outcast from him. And 
now, that I am come to speak of this thing to my lord the 
king, it is because the people made me afraid. And thy 
handmaid said : I will speak now to the king ; it may be 

^^ that the king will grant the request of his handmaid. For 
the king will hearken, to deliver his handmaid out of the 
hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together, 

^■^ from the inheritance of God. And thy handmaid said : Let 
now the word of my lord the king be comforting ; for as an 
angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern the good and 

^^ the evil ; and Jehovah thy God be with thee. Then the 
king answered and said to the woman : Do not hide from 
me the thing that I ask thee. And the woman said : Let 

^^ my lord the king speak. And the king said : Is the hand 
of Joab with thee in all this ? And the woman answered 
and said : As thy soul lives, my lord the king, none can turn 
to the right hand or to the left from aught that my lord the 
king has spoken \ for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he 

2^ put all these words in the mouth of thy handmaid. In order 



V. 14. To enforce the inference just drawn, she begins with a general principle. Life is 
fleeting, and when gone is beyond recall ; and yet God spares life, seeking to reclaim rather 
than destroy. The application was obvious, though only delicately hinted ; and her object 
was gained. Bluntly expressed, her thought is, —All will come right, if David will do by Absa- 
lom, as God has done by David, 

201 



Chap. xiv. II. SAMUEL. 



to change the face of the matter, has thy servant Joab done 
this thhig. And my lord is wise, as the wisdom of an angel 
of God, to know all things that are in the earth. 

21 And the king said to Joab : Behold now, I have done this 
thing. Go, therefore, bring back the young man Absalom. 

22 And Joab fell on his face to the ground, and bo^ved himself, 
and blessed the king. And Joab said : To-day thy servant 
knows that I have found favor in thy sight, my lord the 
king, in that the king has granted the request of his servant. 

23 And Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom 
2^^ to Jerusalem. And the king said : Let him turn to his own 

house, and let him not see my face. And Absalom turned to 
his own house, and saw not the king's face. 

2^ But in all Israel there was none so much praised as Absa- 
lom for his beauty ; from the sole of his foot, and to the 

26 crown of his head, there was no blemish in him. And when 
he shaved his head, — and it was at every year's end that he 
shaved it, for it was heavy on him and he shaved it, — the 
hair of his head weighed two hundred shekels, after the 

2"^ king's weight. And to Absalom were born three sons, and 
a daughter whose name was Tamar ; she was a woman of 
fair countenance. 

28 And Absalom dwelt two years in Jerusalem ; and he saw 

29 not the king's face. And Absalom sent for Joab, in order 
to send him to the king ; but he would not come to him. 
And he sent again the second time, and he would not come. 

3^ And he said to his servants : See, Joab's field is by the side 
of mine, and he has barley there ; go and set it on fire. And 

21 Absalom's servants set the field on fire. Then Joab arose, 
and came to Absalom to his house, and said to him : Where- 

32 fore have thy servants set my field on fire ? And Absalom 
answered Joab : Behold, I sent to thee saying, come hither 
that I may send thee to the king, to say : Wherefore am I 
come from Geshur ? It were good for me that I were there 
still. And now let me see the king's face ; and if there be 

33 any iniquity in me, let him kill me. And Joab came to the 
king, and told him. And he called Absalom ; and he came 

202 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. xv. 



to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground 
before the king ; and the king kissed Absalom. 

^ And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared for 
himself a chariot and horses, and fift}^ men to run before 

2 him. And Absalom rose up early, and stood by the side of 
the way to the gate. And it was so, when any man who had 
a controversy came to the king for judgment, that Absalom 
called to him, and said : Of what city art thou ? And he 

2 said : Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. And 
Absalom said to him : See, thy matters are good and right ; 
but there is no one to hear thee on the part of the king. 

* And Absalom said : Oh that I were made judge in the land, 
that every man who has any suit or cause might come before 

^ me, and I would do him justice ! And it was so, when any 
man came near to bow down to him, that he put forth his 

^ hand, and took hold of him, and kissed him. And in this 
manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for 
judgment. And Absalom stole the hearts of the men of 
Israel. 

'^ And it came to pass at the end of four years, that Absalom 
said to the king : I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, 

^ which I have vowed to Jehovah, in Hebron. For thy serv- 
ant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying : 
If Jehovah shall indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I 

^ will serve Jehovah. And the king said to him : Go in peace. 
And he arose, and went to Hebron. 

^^ And Absalom sent spies through all the tribes of Israel, 

saying : When ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye 

^^ shall say : Absalom is made king in Hebron. And with 

Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were 

invited ; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew 

^2 not anything. And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, 

David's counselor, from his city, from Giloh, while he was 

offering sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong ; for the 

people increased continually with Absalom. 

^ And there came a messenger to David, saying : The hearts 

203 



Chap. xv. H. SAMUEL. 



1* of the men of Israel are after Absalom. And David said to 
all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem : Arise, and 
let us flee ; for there will be for us no escape from Absalom. 
Make haste to depart, lest he suddenly overtake us, and 
bring the evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of 

^^ the sword. And the king's servants said to th(3 king : What- 
soever my lord the king shall choose, behold, we are thy 

^^ servants. And the king went forth, and all his household 
after him. And the king left ten women, concubines, to 

^■^ keep the house. And the king went forth, and all the people 

1^ after him, and halted at Beth-merhak. And all his servants 
passed on beside him ; and all the executioners, and all the 
couriers, and all the Gittites six hundred men who came 
after him from Gath, passed on before the king. 

1^ Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite : Wherefore goest 
tliou also with us ? Return, and remain with the king ; for 

20 thou art a stranger, and also migrathig to thy place. Thou 
camest but yesterday ; and should I to-day make thee go up 
and down with us, seeing that I go whither I may ? Return 
thou, and take back thy brethren ; mercy and truth be with 

21 thee. And Ittai answered the king, and said : As Jehovah 
lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in what place my 
lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there 

22 will thy servant be. And David said to Ittai : Go, and pass 
over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and 

23 all the little ones that were with him. And all the land wept 
with a loud voice, as all the people passed over ; and the 
king passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed 
over, toward the way to the wilderness. 

2^ And lo ! Zadok also, and all the Levites with him, bearing 
the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark 
of God ; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done 

2^ passing out of the city. And the king said to Zadok : Carry 
back the ark of God to the city. If I shall find favor in the 
eyes of Jehovah, he will bring me back, and will cause me 

V. 17. Betli-merhak. Or, the Far House. " A house so-called, probably from being tie last 
house in the suburbs, on the Jericho road before it crossed the Kidron ; very likely a fort 
guarding the passage of the Kidron." ( The Speaker's Commentary.) 

20i 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. xvi. 



26 to see it, and his habitation. But if he thus say : I have no 
dehght in thee ; behold, here am I, let him do to me as 

2'' seems good to him. And the king said to Zadok the priest : 
Seest thou ? Return to the city in peace, and Ahimaaz thy 
son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, your two sons with 

2s you. See, I will delay at the fords of the wilderness, until 

2^ there come word from you to inform me. And Zadok and 
Abiathar carried back the ark of God to Jerusalem ; and 
they remained there. 

^^ And David went up by the ascent of the olives, and weep- 
ing as he went up, and with his head covered, and he going 
barefoot ; and all the people that w^ere with him covered 
every man his head, and they went up weeping as they went. 

^^ And it was told David, saying : Ahithophel is among the 
conspirators with Absalom. And David said : Make foolish, 
I pray thee, the counsel of Ahithophel, Jehovah. 

*2 And it came to pass, when David was come to the summit, 
where men worshipped God, that, behold, Hushai the Archite 
came to meet him, with his garment rent, and earth upon his 

^^ head. And David said to him : If thou passest on with me, 

2* then thou wilt be a burden to me. But if thou return to the 
city, and say to Absalom, I will be thy servant, king ; I 
have been thy father's servant hitherto, and now I will be 
thy servant ; then mayest thou defeat for me the counsel of 

2^ Ahithophel. And are there not with thee there Zadok and 
Abiathar the priests ? And what thing soever thou hearest 
out of the king's house, thou shalt tell to Zadok and Abiathar 

2^ the priests. Behold, they have there with them their two 
sons, Ahimaaz Zadok 's son, and Jonathan Abiathar's son ; 
and by their hand send to me everything that ye shall hear. 

^'^ So Hushai David's friend came to the city ; and Absalom 
came to Jerusalem. 

^ And David had passed a little beyond the summit ; and 
behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a 

V. 31. Make foolish. Either, make it bo (make it foolish counsel), or make it seem and be 
treated so (as it proved); in either case frustrating the evil design. 

205 



Chap, xvi II. SAMUEL. 



pair of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of 
bread, and a hundred cakes of raisins, and a hundred cakes 

2 of figs, and a skin of wine. And the king said to Ziba : 
What meanest thou by these ? And Ziba said : The asses are 
for the king's household to ride on ; and the bread and the 
figs for the young men to eat ; and the wine, that such as are 

2 faint in the wilderness may drink. And the king said : And 
where is thy master's son ? And Ziba said to the king : 
Behold, he remains at Jerusalem. For he said : To-day will 
the house of Israel restore to me the kingdom of my father. 

* Then said the king to Ziba : Behold, thine are all that 
belonged to Mephibosheth. And Ziba said : I bow myself 
down ; may I find favor in thy sight, my lord, the king. 

^ And when David the king came to Bahurim, behold, there 
came out thence a man of the family of the house of Saul, 
whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera. He came out, 

"^ cursing as he came. And he cast stones at David, and at all 
the servants of king David ; and all the people, and all the 

' mighty men, were on his right hand and on his left. And 
thus said Shimei while he cursed : Come out, come out, thou 

^ man of blood, thou wicked man. Jehovah returns upon 
thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou 
wast made king ; and Jehovah gives the kingdom into the 
hand of Absalom thy son ; and, behold, thou art now in thy 
calamity, because thou art a man of blood. 

9 And Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king : Why 
should this dead dog curse my lord the king ? Let me go 

^^ over, I pray thee, and take off his head. And the king said : 
What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah ? So let 
him curse ; for Jehovah has said to him, curse David, And 

^^ who may say : Why doest thou so ? And David said to 
Abishai, and to all his servants : Behold, my son, who came 
forth from my bowels, seeks my life. And how much more 
now may this Benjamite do it ? Let him alone, and let him 

V. 1. A skin ofxcine. In the East, water and other Uquids are carried, on journeys, in the 
plans of animals. The skin is stripped whole from the body of the animal (a sheep, goat, or 
kid), after cutting off the head and feet ; so that when distended witli any liquid it has the 
form of the animal from which it is taken. ( The wriler's note on Gen. 21 : 11.) 

206 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. xvn. 



12 curse ; for Jehovah has bidden him. It may be that Jeho- 
vah will look on my affliction, and that Jehovah will return 

1^ me good for his cursing this day. And David and his men 
went on the way ; and Shimei went along on the hill's side 
over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones 

^^ toward him, and cast dust. And the king, and all the people 
that were with him, came to Ajephim, and refreshed them- 
selves there. 

^^ And Absalom, and all the people the men of Israel, came 

1^ to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him. And it came to 
pass, when Hushai the Archite, David's friend, was come to 
Absalom, that Hushai said to Absalom : Long live the king ! 

i"* Long live the king ! And Absalom said to Hushai : Is this 
thy kindness to thy friend ? Why wentest thou not with thy 

1^ friend ? And Hushai said to Absalom : Nay ; but whom 
Jehovah has chosen, and this people, and all the men of 

1^ Israel, his will I be, and with him will I remain. And 
secondly, whom should I serve ? Should I not in the presence 
of his son ? As I have served in thy father's presence, so will 
I be in thy presence. 

'^^ Then said Absalom to Ahithophel : Grive ye counsel, what 

21 we shall do. And Ahithophel said to Absalom : Go in unto 
thy father's concubines, whom he has left to keep the house. 
And all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred by thy father ; 

22 and the hands of all that are with thee shall be strong. And 
they spread the tent for Absalom on the roof And Absalom 
went in unto his father's concubines, in the sight of all Israel. 

23 And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counseled in those 
days, was as if a man inquired of the word of God. So was 
all the counsel of Ahithophel, both to David and to Absalom. 

1 And Ahithophel said to Absalom : Let me now choose out 
twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David 

2 this night. And I will come upon him while he is weary and 
weak-handed, and will make him afraid ; and all the people 
that are with him will flee ; and I will smite the king only. 

3 And I will bring back all the people to thee. The man 

207 



Chap. xvii. II. SAMUEL. 



whom thou seekest is as if all returned ; all the people will 
^ be in peace. And the saying pleased Absalom, and all the 
^ elders of Israel. Then said Absalom : Call now Hushai the 
^ Archite also, and we will hear too what he has to say. And 
Hushai came to Absalom, and Absalom spoke to him, saying : 
Ahithophel has spoken after this manner ; shall we do what 
■^ he says ? If not, speak thou. And Hushai said to Absalom : 
The counsel that Ahithophel has given this time is not good. 
^ And Hushai said : Thou knowest thy father and his men, 
that they are mighty men, and they are embittered in mind, 
as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field ; and thy father 
^ is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people. Behold, 
now he is hid in one of the hollows, or in some other place. 
And it will come to pass, when some among them fall at the 
first, that he who hears it will say, there is a slaughter among 
^^ the people that follow Absalom ; and even he that is val- 
iant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, will utterly melt. 
For all Israel knows that thy father is a mighty man, and 

11 they that are with him are valiant men. For I counsel that 
all Israel be fully gathered unto thee, from Dan to Beer-sheba, 
as the sand that is by the sea for multitude ; and that thou 

12 go to battle in thine own person. And we shall come upon 
him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light 
upon him as the dew falls on the ground ; and of him, and 
of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so 

1^ much as one. And if he shall withdraw into a city, then 
shall all Israel put ropes to that city, and we will drag it to 
the river, till not even a small stone shall be found there. 

1^ And Absalom and all the men of Israel said : The counsel 
of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahitho- 
phel. And Jehovah had appointed to make vain the good 
counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that Jehovah might 
bring evil upon Absalom. 

15 Then said Hushai to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests : 
Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the 

1^ elders of Israel ; and thus and thus have I counseled. And 
now send quickly, and tell David, saying : Lodge not this 

208 



II. SAMUEL. Chap, xm 



night at the fords of the wilderness, but speedily pass over ; 
lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are 

1"^ with him. Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were standing at 
the Fuller's-fountain ; and the maidservant went and told 
them, that they might go and tell king David; for they 

^^ might not be seen to come into the city. But a lad saw 
them, and told Absalom. And they went both of them, 
quickly, and came to a man's house in Bahurim, who had a 

^'' well in his court ; and they went down there. And the 
woman took and spread the covering over the well's mouth, 
and strowed ground corn thereon ; and nothing was perceived. 

20 And Absalom's servants came into the house to the woman, 
and said : Where is Ahimaaz, and Jonathan ? And the 
woman said to them : They are gone over the brook of 
water. And they sought and did not find them, and returned 

2^ to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, after they had departed, 
that they came up out of the well, and went and told king 
David. And they said to David : Arise, and pass quickly 
over the water ; for thus has Ahithophel counseled against 

2'^ you. Then David arose, and all the people that were with 
him, and they passed over the Jordan ; by the morning light, 
there lacked not one of them that had not gone over the 
Jordan. 

23 And Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed. 
And he saddled his ass, and arose, and went to his house, to 
his city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself ; 
and he died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father. 

2* And David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over 
the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him. 

25 And Absalom set Amasa over the host instead of Joab. 
And Amasa was the son of a man whose name was Ithra 
the Israelite, who went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, 

26 sister of Zeruiah Joab's mother. And Israel and Absalom 
encamped in the land of Gilead. 

2"^ And it came to pass when David was come to Mahanaim, 
that Shobi the son of Nahash, from Rabbah of the children 
of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, 

209 



Chap. xvm. II. SAMUEL. 



28 and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim, brought beds, and 
basms, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, 
and parched corn, and beans, and lentiles, and parched pulse, 

29 and honey, and curds, and sheep, and cheese of kme, for 
David, and for the people that were with him, to eat ; for 
they said : The people are hungry, and weary, and thirsty, 
in the wilderness. 

^ And David numbered the people that were with him ; and 
he set over them captains of thousands and captains of hun- 

2 dreds. And David sent forth the people, a third part under 
the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai 
the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third part under the 
hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, I 

^ will surely go forth with you myself also. And the people 
said : Thou shalt not go forth. For if we flee away, they 
will not care for us ; nor if half of us die, will they care for 
us ; for now thou art as ten thousand of us. And now it is 

^ better that thou succor us out of the city. And the king 
said to them : What seems to you best I will do. And the 
king stood by the side of the gate ; and all the people came 

^ out by hundreds and by thousands. And the king com- 
manded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying : Deal gently for 
my sake with the young man, with Absalom. And all the 
people heard when the king gave aU the captains charge 
concerning Absalom. 

^ So the people went out into the field against Israel ; and 

■^ the battle was in the forest of Ephraim. And there the 
people of Israel were smitten before the servants of David ; 
and the slaughter there was great on that day, twenty thou- 

8 sand men. For the battle there spread over the face of all 
the country ; and the wood devoured more of the people 
that day than the sword devoured. 

9 And Absalom came by chance in presence of David's 
servants. And Absalom was riding on the mule ; and the 

v. 9. The mule. On which David himself rode, on state occasions ; and now used by Absa- 
lom as a part of the royal prerogative. Hence the definite article, (1 Kings 1 : 33). 

210 



n. SAMUEL. Chap. xvm. 



mule went under the thick branches of the great oak, and 
his head caught fast in the oak, and he was taken between 
the heaven and the earth, and the mule that was under him 

^^ went on. And a certain man saw it, and told Joab. And 

^1 he said : Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in the oak. And 
Joab said to the man that told him : And, behold, thou 
sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the 
earth? And I would have given thee ten pieces of silver, 

^2 and a girdle. And the man said to Joab : Though I might 
weigh a thousand pieces of silver into my hand, I would not 
put forth my hand against the king's son. For in our hear- 
ing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying : 

^^ Have care, every one, for the young man, for Absalom. Or 
had I, against my own life, dealt deceitfully, — for no matter 
is hidden from the king, — then thou wouldst have set thy- 

^^ self against me. And Joab said : I may not tarry thus with 
thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them 
into the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the 

^^ midst of the oak. And ten young men, that bore Joab's 

^^ armor, surrounded and smote Absalom, and slew him. And 
Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursu- 

^■^ ing after Israel ; for Joab held back the people. And they 
took Absalom, and cast him into the great pit in the forest, 
and laid a very great heap of stones upon him. And all 
Israel fled, every one to his tent. 

IS Now Absalom, in his lifetime, had taken and reared up for 
himself the pillar, which is in the king's dale ; for he said : I 
have no son to keep my name in remembrance. And he 
called the pillar after his own name ; and it is called to this 
day, Absalom's monument. 

^^ And Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said : Let me now run, 
and bear the king tidings, that Jehovah has defended him 

2<> from the hand of his enemies. And Joab said to him : Thou 
shalt not be bearer of tidings this day, but thou shalt bear 
tidings another day. But this day thou shalt bear no tidings, 

2^ because the king's son is dead. Then said Joab to the 
Cushite : Go, tell the king what thou hast seen. And the 

211 



Chap. xvm. II. SAMUEL. 



22 Cushite bowed himself to Joab, and ran. And Ahimaaz 
the son of Zadok said yet again to Joab : However it be, let 
me, I pray thee, also run after the Cushite. And Joab said : 
Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no 

23 welcome tidings ? However it be, said he, let me run. And 
he said to him : Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the 

2* plain, and he passed by the Cushite. And David was sitting 
between the two gates. And the watchman went up to the 
roof of the gate on the wall, and lifted up his eyes and saw, 

25 and behold a man running alone. And the watchman called, 
and told it to the king. And the king said : If he be alone, 
there are tidings in his mouth. And he came nearer and 

26 nearer. And the watchman saw another man running. And 
the watchman called to the porter, and said : Behold a man 
running alone. And the king said : He also brings tidings. 

2"^ And the watchman said : Methinks the running of the foremost 
is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the 
king said : He is a good man, and comes wdth good tidings. 

2s And Ahimaaz called, and said to the king : All is well. 
And he bowed down to the king with his face to the earth, 
and said : Blessed be Jehovah thy God, who has delivered 
up the men that lifted their hand against my lord the king. 

29 And the king said : Is it well with the young man, with 
Absalom ? And Ahimaaz said : I saw the great tumult, 
when Joab sent the king's servant, and thy servant, but I 

3^ knew not what it was. And the king said : Turn aside, and 

21 stand here. And he turned aside, and stood there. And, 
behold, the Cushite came ; and the Cushite said : My lord, 
the king, receive the tidings ! for Jehovah has defended thee 

22 this day from all them that rose up against thee. And the 
king said to the Cushite : Is it well with the young man, 
with Absalom? And the Cushite said : The enemies of my 
lord, the king, and all that rise up against thee for evil, be as 
the young man. 

23 And the king was greatly moved ; and he went up to the 

V. 21. The Vu&hice ; the Ethiopian, as the Hebrew word is translated elsewhere. See, for 
example. Num. 12 : 1 ; 2 Chron. 12 : 3, and 14 : 9. He was Joab's Ethiopian servant, and well 
Buited to be employed on such an errand. 

212 



11. SAMUEL. Chap. xiz. 



chamber over the gate, and wept. And thus he said, as he 
went : My son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom ! Would 
I had died for thee, Absalom, my son, my son ! 

^ And it was told Joab : Behold, the king weeps and mourns 

2 for Absalom. And the deliverance that day was turned into 
mourning to all the people ; for the people heard it said that 

^ day : The king is grieved for his son. And the people came 
stealthily into the city that day, as people steal away ashamed 

^ when they flee in battle. And the king covered his face. 
And the king cried with a loud voice : My son Absalom ! 

^ Absalom, my son, my son ! And Joab came into the house 
to the king, and said : Thou hast shamed this day the faces 
of all thy servants, who this day have saved thy life, and the 
lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy 

^ wives, and the lives of thy concubines ; in that thou lovest 
them that hate thee, and hatest them that love thee. For 
thou hast shown this day, that princes and servants are 
nothing to thee. For this day I perceive, that if Absalom 
had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased 

■^ thee well. And now arise, go forth, and speak to the heart 
of thy servants. For I swear by Jehovah, if thou go not 
forth, there will not remain one with thee this night ; and 
that will be worse to thee than all the evil that befell thee 
^ from thy youth until now. Then the king arose, and sat in 
the gate. And they told all the people, saying : Behold, the 
king sits in the gate. And all the people came before the 
king. 

® And Israel had fled every man to his tent. And all the 
people strove together in all the tribes of Israel, saying : The 
king rescued us out of the hand of our enemies, and he 
delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines ; and now he 
^^ has fled out of the land from Absalom. And Absalom, 
whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. And now 
why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back ? 
^^ And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, 
saying : Speak to the elders of Judah, and say : Why will 

213 



Chap. xix. II. SAMUEL. 



ye be the last to bring the king back to his house, seeing that 

^2 the word of all Israel is come to the king, to his house. Ye 
are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh ; and why 

1^ will ye be the last to bring back the king ? And to Amasa 
shall ye say : Art thou not my bone, and my flesh ? God do 
so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host 

^* before me continually, in place of Joab. And he inclined 
the heart of all the men of Judah, as of one man ; and they 
sent word to the king : Return thou, and all thy servants. 

1^ So the king returned, and came to the Jordan. And Judah 
came to Gilgal, to go and meet the king, to bring the king 
over the Jordan. 

^^ And Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, who was of 
Bahurim, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to 

^^ meet king David ; and a thousand men of Benjamin with 
him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his 
fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him ; and they went 

1^ over the Jordan to meet the king. And the ferry-boat went 
over to carry over the king's household, and to do what he 
thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before 

^^ the king, when he passed over the Jordan. And he said to 
the king : Let not my lord impute iniquity to me, and re- 
raiember not that which thy servant did perversely, on the 
day that my lord the king went out from Jerusalem, that 

20 the king should lay it to heart. For thy servant knows that 
I have sinned ; and, behold, I am come the first this day of 
all the house of Joseph, to go down to meet my lord, the 

21 king. And Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, answered and said : 
Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, that he cursed the 

22 anointed of Jehovah ? And David said : What have I to do 
with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye will be adversaries to 
me this day ? Shall any man be put to death this day in 
Israel ? For do not I know that I am this day king over 

23 Israel ? And the king said to Shimei : Thou shalt not die. 
And the king swore to him. 

2* And Mephibosheth, the son of Saul, went down to meet 
the king. And he had not dressed his feet, nor trimmed his 

214 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. xix. 



beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed 

2^ until the day when he came in peace. And it was so, when 
he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king 
said to him : Wherefore wentest not thou with me, Mephibo- 

26 sheth? And he said: My lord, the king, my servant de- 
ceived me. For thy servant said, I will saddle the ass for 
me, and will ride thereon, and will go to the king ; because 

2^ thy servant is lame. And he has slandered thy servant to 
my lord, the king. But my lord, the king, is as an angel of 

2^ God ; and do what is good in thine eyes. For all my father's 
house were but dead men to my lord, the king ; yet thou 
didst set thy servant among them that eat at thine own table. 
And what right have I yet, and to cry for yet unto the 

2'^ king ? And the king said to him : Why speakest thou any 
more of thine affairs ? I have said : Thou and Ziba divide 

2^ the land. And Mephibosheth said to the king : Yea, let him 
take all, forasmuch as my lord, the king, has come in peace 
to his house. 

^^ And Barzillai the Grileadite came down from Rogelim, and 
went over the Jordan with the king, to accompany him in 

^2 passing the Jordan. Now Barzillai was very aged, fourscore 
years old. And he had provided the king with sustenance 
while he lay at Mahanaim ; for he was a very great man. 

2^ And the king said to Barzillai : Come thou over with me, 

^^ and I will provide for thee, with me in Jerusalem. And 
Barzillai said to the king : How many are the days of the 
years of my life, that I should go up with the king to Jeru- 

^^ salem ? I am this day fourscore years old. Can I discern 
between good and evil ? Can thy servant taste what I eat 
and what I drink ? Can I hear any more the voice of sing- 
ing men and singing women ? And why should thy servant 

36 be yet a burden to my lord, the king ? Thy servant will go 
a little way over the Jordan with the king. And why should 

^' the king recompense me with such a reward ? Let thy serv- 
ant, I pray thee, return ; that I may die in my own city, by 

V 25. When he came from Jei-usalem. Others,— When Jerusalem (that is, its inhabitantB) 
came. 

215 



Chap. xx. II. SAMUEL. 



the grave of my father and of my mother. But, behold, thy 
servant Chimham will go over with my lord, the king ; and 

^^ do to him what shall seem good to thee. And the king said : 
Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that 
which shall seem good to thee • and all thou shalt desire of 

3» me I will do for thee. And all the people went over the 
Jordan. And the king went over ; and the king kissed 
Barzillai, and blessed him, and he returned to his place. 

^0 Then the king went on to Grilgal, and Chimham went on 
with him. Now all the people of Judah had brought the 
king over, and also half the people of Israel. 

^1 And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and 
said to the king : Why have our brethren, the men of Judah, 
stolen thee away, and have brought the king and his house- 

*2 hold over the Jordan, and all David's men with him. And 
all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel : Because 
the king is near of kin to us ; and why is it that ye are angry 
at this thing ? Have we eaten at all at the king's cost ? Or 

*^ has he given us any gift ? And the men of Israel answered 
the men of Judah, and said : We have ten parts in the king, 
and also in David have we more than ye. And why have 
ye despised us, that our advice was not first had in bringing 
back our king ? And the words of the men of Judah were 
harder than the words of the men of Israel. 

^ And there happened to be there a wicked man, whose name 
was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. And he blew a 
trumpet, and said : We have no part in David, and we have 
no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, 

2 Israel. And every man of Israel went up from David, 
after Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah clave 
to their king, from the Jordan unto Jerusalem. 

2 And David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the 
king took the ten women, concubines, whom he left to keep 
the house, and put them under watch, and provided for 
them ; but -he went not in unto them. And they were shut 
up unto the day of their death, in life-long widowhood. 

216 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. xx. 



* And the king said to Amasa : Gather to me the men of 

^ Judah within three days ; and be thou present here. And 
Amasa went to assemble Judah ; but he tarried beyond the 

^ set time appointed him. And David said to Abishai : Now 
will Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absa- 
lom. Take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after him, 

'^ lest he get for him fenced cities, and escape us. And there 
went out after him Joab's men, and the executioners, and 
the couriers, and all the mighty men ; and they went out 
from Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri. 

^ When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, 
Amasa came towards them. And Joab was girded with his 
war-dress as his garment, and over it the belt of the sword 
fastened on his loins in its sheath ; and as he went forth it 

^ fell out. And Joab said to Amasa : Art thou in health, my 
brother ? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the 

1^ right hand, to kiss him. But Amasa took no heed to the 
sword that was in Joab's hand ; and he smote him therewith 
in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and 
struck him not again ; and he died. And Joab and Abishai 

1^ his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri. And one 
of Joab's servants stood by him, and said : He that favors 

^2 Joab, and he that is for David, let him go after Joab. And 
Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And 
the man saw that all the people stood still ; and he removed 
Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth 
upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him 

^^ stood still. When he was removed out of the highvray, every 
man passed on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of 
Bichri. 

1* And he passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, 
and to Beth-maachah, and all the Berites ; and they were 

^^ gathered together, and went also after him. And they came 
and besieged him in Abel-Beth-maachah. And they cast up 

V. 8, last clause. Or, which came out, and it dropped ; that is, the sheath came out of the 
belt, and the sword dropped. The meaning is the same. It was an artifice of the wary Joab. 
He picked up the fallen weapon with his left hand, and taking with his right (v. 9) the beard 
of Amasa for a friendly greeting, thrust the unsuspected weapon into his bowels. 

217 



Chap. xxi. II. SAMUEL. 

a mound against the city, and it stood at the outer wall ; and 
all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to 
throw it down. 

^^' Then cried a wise woman out of the city. Hear, hear ; say, 
I pray you, to Joab : Come near hither, that I may speak 

^■^ with thee. And he came near to her, and the woman said : 
Art thou Joab ? And he said : I am he. And she said to 
him : Hear the words of thy handmaid. And he answered, 

^^ I hear. And she spoke, saying : They were wont to speak 
in old time, saying : They shall surely ask counsel at Abel ; 

1^ and so they ended the matter. I am of them that are peace- 
able and faithful in Israel. Thou seekest to destroy a city 
and a mother in Israel ; why wilt thou swallow up the inher- 

2^ itance of Jehovah ? And Joab answered and said : Far be 
it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy. 

21 The thing is not so ; but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba 
the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against the 
king, against David. Deliver up him only, and I will depart 
from the city. And the woman said to Joab : Behold, his 

22 head shall be thrown to thee over the wall. And the woman 
went to all the people in her wisdom ; and they cut ojBT the 
head of Sheba, the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. 
And he blew a trumpet, and they dispersed from the city, 
every man to his tents. And Joab returned to Jerusalem, 
to the king. 

23 And Joab was pver all the host of Israel ; and Benaiah, 
the son of Jehoiada, was over the executioners, and over the 

2* couriers ; and Adoram was over the tribute ; and Jehosha- 

25 phat, the son of Ahilud, was recorder ; and Sheva was scribe ; 

26 and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests ; and Ira also, the 
Jairite, was a priest to David. 

1 And there was a famine in the days of David three years, 
year after year ; and David inquired of Jehovah. And Jeho- 
vah answered : It is for Saul, and for the blood-guilty house, 

v. 19. She cpeaks as one representing the city, and on its behalf.— JL mother ; a mother- 
.city. — r/ie inheritance of Jehovah. A portion of his inheritance, by right belonging to him. 
v. 1. Inquired of Jehovah. Literally,— sought the face of Jehovah. 

218 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. xxi. 



2 because he slew the Gibeonites. And the king called the 
Gibeonites, and said to them ; — now the Gibeonites were not 
of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites, 
and the children of Israel had sworn to them ; and Saul sought 
to slay them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah ; — 

3 and David said to the Gibeonites : What shall I do for you ? 
And wherewith shall I make atonement, that ye may bless 

* the inheritance of Jehovah ? And the Gibeonites said to 
him : We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his 
house ; nor for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And 

^ he said : What ye shall say, that will I do for you. And 
they said to the king : The man that consumed us, and that 
devised against us that we should be cut off from an abiding 

^ place in all the territory of Israel ; let seven men of his sons 
be given to us, that we may hang them up unto Jehovah in 
Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of Jehovah. And the king said : I 

■^ will give them. Bat the king spared Mephibosheth, the son 
of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the oath by Jehovah 
that was between them, between David and Jonathan the 

^ son of Saul. And the king took the two sons of Rizpah the 
daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and 
Mephibosheth ; and the five sons of Merab the daughter of 
Saul, whom she bore to Adriel the son of Barzillai the 

^ Meholathite ; and he gave them into the hand of the Gibe- 
onites, and they hanged them on the hill before Jehovah. 
And they fell all seven together ; and they were put to death 
in the first days of harvest, in the beginning of barley harvest. 

1^ And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and 
spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of har- 
vest until water was poured upon them out of heaven ; and 
she suffered not a bird of the air to rest on them by day, nor 

1^ a beast of the field by night. And it was told David what 
Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had 
done. 

^•^ And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones 
of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who took 

V. 2. Had sworn to them. See Josh. 9 : 15, 18, 19. 

219 



Chap. xxn. II. SAMUEL. 



them by stealth from the street of Beth-shan, where the 
PhiHstmes hanged them, when the Phihstmes had slain Saul 

1^ in Gilboa. And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul 
and the bones of Jonathan his son ; and they gathered the 

^^ bones of them that were hanged. And the bones of Saul 
and Jonathan his son buried they in the land of Benjamin 
in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father ; and they did 
all that the king commanded. And after that Grod hearkened 
to entreaty for the land. 

^^ And the Philistines had war again with Israel. And David 
went down, and his servants with him, and fought the Philis- 

1^ tines. And David became weary. And Ishbi-benob, who 
was of the sons of the giant, and whose spear was three 
hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a 

1"^ new sword, thought to smite David. But Abishai the son 
of Zeruiah succored him, and smote the Philistine, and killed 
him. Then the men of David adjured him, saying : Thou 
shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not 
the light of Israel. 

1^ And it came to pass after this, that there was again a 
battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbechai the 
Hushathite slew Saph, who was of the sons of the giant. 

1^ And there was again a battle ni Gob with the Phihstines. 
And Elhanan the son of Jair, the Beth-lehemite, slew Goliath 
the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's 
beam. 

20 And there was yet a battle in Gath. And there was a man 
of great stature, that had on each hand six fingers, and on 
each foot six toes, four and twenty in number ; and he also 

2^ was born to the giant. And he defied Israel ; and Jonathan 

22 the son of Shimeah, the brother of David, slew him. These 
four were born to the giant in Gath ; and they fell by the 
hand of David, and by the hand of his servants. 

1 And David spoke to Jehovah the words of this song, in the 
day that Jehovah had delivered him out of the hand of all 
his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul. And he said : — 

220 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. xxn. 



2 Jehovah, my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer ; 

3 The God of my rock, in him will I trust, 

My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my fortress, and my refuge, 
My savior, thou savest mo from violence. 

4 I will call on Jehovah, who is to be praised ; 
And I shall be saved from my enemies. 

5 For the waves of death were around me ; 
The floods of the ungodly made me afraid. 

6 The bands of the underworld surrounded me; 
The snares of death confronted me. 

7 In my distress I called upon Jehovah ; 
And to my God I cried. 

And from his temple he heard my voice, 
And my cry came into his ears. 

8 Then the earth shook and quaked ; 
The foundations of the heavens trembled, 
And were shaken, because he was wroth. 

9 There went up smoke in his nostril. 
And fire out of his mouth devoured ; 
Coals were kindled from it. 

10 And he bowed the heavens and came down ; 
And thick darkness was under his feet. 

11 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly; 
And he appeared on wings of the wind. 

12 And he made darkness pavilions round about him, 
Gathered waters, thick clouds of the skies. 

13 From the brightness before him. 
Coals of fire were kindled. 

14 Jehovah thundered from the heavens, 
And the Most High uttered his voice. 

15 And ho sent out arrows, and scattered them ; 
Lightning, and discomfited them. 

16 And the channels of the sea appeared. 

The foundations of the world were laid bare, 

At the rebuke of Jehovah, 

At the blast of the breath of his nostrils. 

17 He reached from on high, he took me ; 
He drew me out of many waters. 

13 He delivered me from my strong enemy ; 

From my haters, for they were too strong for me. 

19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity ; 
And Jehovah became a stay for me, 

20 And brought mo forth to a large place ; 

Ho delivered mo, because ho delighted in me. 

21 Jehovah requited me according to my righteousness ; 
Acconling to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me. 

22 For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, 

221 



Chap. xxn. II. SAMUEL. 



And have not wickedly departed from my God. 

23 For all his judgments are before me ; 

And his statutes, I do not depart from them. 

24 And I was upright toward him, and kept myself from my iniquity. 

25 And Jehovah recompensed me according to my righteousness ; 
According to my cleanness before his eyes. 

26 With the gracious thou wilt show thyself gracious ; 
With the upright man thou wilt show thyself upright. 

27 With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure ; 

And with the fro ward thou wilt show thyself froward. 

28 And the afflicted people thou wilt save ; 

But thine eyes are against the lofty, thou wilt bring them low. 

29 For thou art my lamp, O Jehovah ; 

And Jehovah will enlighten my darkness. 

30 For by thee I shall run through a troop ; 
By my God I shall leap over a wall. 

31 As for God, his way is perfect ; 
The word of Jehovah is tried ; 

A shield is he to all that trust in him. 

32 For who is God besides Jehovah ? 
And who is a rock besides our God ? 

33 God is my tower of strength ; 

And he leads the upright in his way. 

34 He makes my feet like hinds'. 

And on my high places makes me stand ; 

35 Teaching my hands to war, 

And a bow of brass is bent in my arms. 

36 And thou givest me the shield of thy salvation ; 
And thy condescension makes me great. 

37 Thou enlargest my steps under me ; 
And my ankles have not wavered. 

88 I shall pursue my enemies, and destroy them ; 

And not turn again till they are consumed. 
39 And I shall consume them, and crush them, 

That they shall not arise ; 

And they shall fall under my feet. 
*o For thou hast girded me with strength for the battle ; 

Thou wilt make them crouch under me that rise up against me. 
*1 And thou givest me the neck of my enemies, 

Them that hate me, that I may destroy them. 
*2 They look, there is no deliverer ; 

To Jehovah, but he answers them not. 
43 And I shall beat them small as dust of the earth ; 



V. 27. Wilt show thyself froward ; by abandoning them to their frowardness, when persisted 
in. This just and merciful principle of moral government is recognized by the Apostle :— " As 
they did not choose to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate 
mind," (Rom. 1 : 28.) 

222 



n. SAMUEL. Chap. xxin. 



As mire of the street shall I crush them, tread them down. 
** And thou wilt deliver me from the strifes of my people ; 

Thou wilt keep me to be head of the heathen ; 

A people I have not known shall serve me. 
*5 Strangers will profess submission to me ; 

At the hearing of the ear, they will obey me. 
*6 Strangers will fade away, 

And will tremble from their strongholds. 
*7 Jehovah lives, and blessed be my rock ; 

And exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation ; 
*8 The Mighty, who avenges me, and brings down the peoples under me, 
*9 And brings me out from my enemies. 

And thou wilt lift me high above them that rise up against me ; 

From the man of violence thou wilt rescue me. 

60 Therefore will I praise thee, Jehovah, among the heathen, 
And to thy name will I sing. 

61 Great deliverances he gives to his king. 
And shows kindness to his anointed. 
To David and to his seed, for evermore. 

^ And these are the last words of David. 

David the son of Jesse said; 
And the man who was raised on high, 
The anointed of the God of Jacob, 
And the sweet psalmist of Israel, said: — 

2 The Spirit of Jehovah spoke by me, 
And his word was on my tongue. 

3 The God of Israel said. 

The Kock of Israel spoke to me : — 

He that rules over men must be just, 

Kuling in the fear of God. 
* And he is as the morning light, when the sun arises, 

A morning without clouds ; 

As the tender grass out of the earth, 

By clear shining after rain. 
5 For is not so my house with God? 

For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, 

Ordered in all things, and assured. 

For all my salvation, and all desire. 

Shall he not then cause to grow? 
« But the wicked, as thorns thrust away, are they all. 

For they are not taken with the hand ; 
^ And the man that touches them arms himself. 

With iron and with shaft of spoar ; 

And with Are shall they be utterly burned in the place. 

V. 51. To Ills anointed— to David and to his seed. These words are the key to the senti- 
meutH of this psalm, and all of like import. The Psalmist speaks as the representative of that 
divinely constituted sovereignty, of which he was the head, and which was opposed in his 
perhOD. (The writer's note in his rcviaed version of the Psalms.) 

223 



Chap, xxiii. II. SAMUEL. 



^ These are the names of the mighty men whom David had. 
Josheb-basshebeth the Tachmonite, chief of the three. He 
hfted up his spear against eight hundred, slain at one time. 

^ And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite ; 
one of the three mighty men with David, vfhen they defied 
the Philistines that were gathered there for battle, and 

1^ the men of Israel went up. He rose up, and smote the 
Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave to 
the sword. And Jehovah wrought a great deliverance that 

^^ day ; and the people returned after him only to spoil. And 
after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And 
the Philistines were gathered together into a troop ; and there 
was there a piece of ground full of lentiles ; and the people 

^2 fled before the Philistines. But he stood in the midst of the 
ground, and rescued it, and smote the Philistines : and Jeho- 

^^ vah wrought a great deliverance. And three of the thirty 
chiefs went down, and came to David in the harvest time to 
the cave of AduUam ; and a troop of the Philistines encamped 

1^ in the valley of Rephaim. And David was then in the strong- 
hold ; and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Beth- 

1^ lehem. And David had longing, and said : Oh that one 
would give me drink of the water of the well of Beth-lehem, 

^^ which is by the gate ! And the three mighty men broke 
through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water out of 
the well of Beth-lehem, that was by the gate, and took and 
brought it to David. And he would not drink thereof, but 

^■^ poured it out unto Jehovah. And he said : Be it far from 
me, Jehovah, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood 
of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives ? Therefore 
he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty 

^^ men. And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, 
was chief of the thirty. And he lifted up his spear against 

1^ three hundred slain, and had a name among the thirty. He 
was most honorable of the thirty, and became their captain ; 

20 but he attained not to the three. And Benaiah the son of 
Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done 
many acts ; he smote two lion-like men of Moab ; and he 

224 



II. SAMUEL. Chap. xxiv. 



went down and smote the lion in the midst of the pit, in 

^^ time of snow. And he smote the Egyptian, a goodly man. 

And the Egj^ptian had a spear in his hand ; and he went 

down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the 

22 Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his own spear. These 
things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had a name 

23 among the thirty mighty men. He was more honored than 
the thirty ; but he attained not to the three. And David 

2* made him of his private audience. Asahel the brother of 
Joab was one of the thirty, Elhanan the son of Dodo of 
25 Beth-lehem, Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, 
2? Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer 
2^^^ the Anethothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, Zalmon the 
2^ Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, Heleb the son of Baa- 
nah, a Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai out of Gibeah of 
3^ the children of Benjamin, Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai 

31 of the valleys of Gaash, Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth 

32 the Barhumite, Eliahba the Shaalb(5nite, Hashem the Gizonite, 

33 Jonathan the son of Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son 
3* of Sharar the Hararite, Ehphelet the son of Ahasbai, the 

son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the 
^ Gilonite, Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, Tgal the 
3^ son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, Zelek the Am- 
monite, Xahari the Beerothite, armor-bearer to Joab the son 
II of Zeruiah, Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, Uriah the 
Hittite ; thirty and seven in all. 

^ And again the anger of Jehovah was kindled against 
Israel ; and he moved David against them to say : Go, num- 

2 her Israel and Judah. And the king said to Joab the cap- 
tain of the host, which was with him : Go now through all 
the tribes of Israel, from Dan unto Beer-sheba ; and number 
ye the people, that I may know the number of the people. 

3 And Joab said to the king : May Jehovah thy God add to 
the people, how many soever they may be, a hundredfold, 
and that the eyes of my lord, the king, may see it. But why 

^ does my lord, the king, delight in this thing ? But the king's 

225 



Chap, xxiv, II. SAMUEL. 



word prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the 
host. And Joab and the captains of the host went out from 
the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel. 

^ And they passed over the Jordan, and encamped in Aroer, 
on the right side of the city that lies in the midst of the valley 

^ of Gad, and toward Jazer. And they came to Gilead, and 
to the land of Tahtim-hodshi ; and they came to Dan-jaan, 

■^ and around to Zidon, and came to the Tyrian fortress, and to 
all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites ; and they 

^ went out to the south of Judah, unto Beer-sheba. So when 
they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem 

^ at the end of nine months and twenty days. And Joab gave 
the sum of the numbering of the people to the king. And 
there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that 
drew the sword ; and the men of Judah were five hundred 
thousand men. 

1^ And David's heart smote him, after he had numbered the 
people. And David said to Jehovah : I have sinned greatly 
in that which I have done. And now, I beseech thee, Jeho- 
vah, put away the iniquity of thy servant ; for I have done 

11 very foolishly. And when David rose in the morning, the 
word of Jehovah came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, 

^2 saying ; go, and say to David : Thus says Jehovah : Three 
things I lay upon thee ; choose for thee one of them, that I 

1^ may do it to thee. And Gad came to David, and told him ; 
and he said to him : Shall there come to thee seven years of 
famine in thy land ? Or that thou flee three months before 
thy enemies, while they pursue thee ? Or that there be three 
days' pestilence in thy land ? Kow consider, and see what 

^^ word I shall return to him who sent me. And David said to 
Gad : I am in a great strait. Let us fall now into the hand 
of Jehovah ; for great are his mercies ; and let me not fall 
into the hand of man. 

1^ And Jehovah sent a pestilence upon Israel, from the 
morrow and to the time appointed. And there died of the 
people, from Dan unto Beer-sheba, seventy thousand men. 

^^ And the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to 

226 



TI. SAMUEL. Chap. xxiv. 



destroy it. And Jehovah repented of the evil ; and he said 
to the angel that destroyed the people : It is enough ; now 
stay thy hand. And the angel of Jehovah was by the 

^^ threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite. And David spoke 
to Jehovah, when he saw the angel that smote the people, 
and said : Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. 
But these, the flock, what have they done ? Let thy hand, I 
pray thee, be upon me, and upon my father's house. 

IS And Gad came that day to David, and said to him : Go 
up, rear an altar to Jehovah in the threshing-floor of Araunah 

1^ the Jebusite. And David, according to the saying of Gad, 

2" went up as Jehovah commanded. And Araunah looked, 
and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him. 
And Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king, 

2^ with his face to the ground. And Araunah said : Wherefore 
comes my lord, the king, to his servant? And David said : 
To buy the threshing-floor of thee, to build an altar to Jeho- 

22 vah, that the plague may be stayed from the people. And 
Araunah said to David : Let my lord, the king, take and 
offer up what seems good to him. Behold, the oxen for a 
burnt-offering, and threshing-sledges and harness of the oxen 

23 for wood. All this does Araunah, king, give to the king. 
And Araunah said to the king : Jehovah thy God accept 

2* thee. And the king said to Araunah : Nay ; but I will 
surely buy it of thee at a price ; and I will not offer burnt- 
offerings to Jehovah my God of that which costs me nothing. 
And David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty 

2^ shekels of silver. And David built there an altar to Jehovah, 

and offiered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings. And Jehovah 

was entreated for the land, and the plague v^as stayed from 

Israel. 

227 



FIRST BOOK OF THE KINGS. 

1 And David the king was old, far gone in years. And the}^ 

2 covered him with clothes, but he had not warmth. And his 
servants said to him : Let them seek for my lord, the king, 
a young virgin ; and let her stand before the king, and be 
his attendant ; and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord, the 

2 king, may have warmth. And they sought for a fair damsel 
in all the territory of Israel ; and they found Abishag the 

^ Shunammite, and brought her to the king. And the damsel 
was very fair ; and she became the king's attendant, and 
ministered to him. And the king knew her not. 

^ And Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying : 
I will be king. And he prepared for himself chariots and 

^ horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. And his father 
had not displeased him in his life, in saying : Why hast thou 
done so ? And he was also of very goodly form. And his 

"^ mother bore him after Absalom. And he conferred with 
Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest ; and 

^ they assisted, following Adonijah. But Zadok the priest, and 
Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and 
Shimei and Rei, and the mighty men who were David's, were 

^ not with Adonijah. And Adonijah slew sheep, and oxen, 
and fatted calves, by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by the 
FuUer's-fountain, and called all his brothers the king's sons, 

^^ and all the men of Judah the king's servants ; but Nathan 
the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon 
his brother, he called not. 

Chap. 1. The history of the people in its varying fortunes, and of the sovereignty divinely 
instituted in the line of David, is here resumed ; and is continued to the termination of that 
line, in its earthly representative, by the AssjTian and Babylonian conquests. 

228 



I. KINGS. CxiAP. I. 



1^ And Nathan spoke to Bath-sheba, the mother of Solomon, 
sayhig : Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Hag- 

^- ffith reisrns, and David our lord knows it not? And now 
come, let me, 1 pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest 

^^ save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon. Go, 
and go m unto king David, and say to him : Didst not thou, 
my lord the king, swear to thy handmaid, saying : Assuredly 
Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon 

^* my throne ? And why does Adonijah reign ? Behold, while 
thou art yet talking there with the king, I will come in after 
thee, and confirm thy words. 

1'' And Bath-sheba went in unto the king into the chamber. 
And the king was very old ; and Abishag the Shunammite 

^'' ministered to the king. And Bath-sheba bent down, and 
bowed herself before the king. And the king said : What 

^' wouldest thou ? And she said to him : My lord, thou didst 
swear by Jehovah thy God to thy handmaid : Assuredly 
Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon 

^^ my throne. And now, behold, Adonijah reigns ; and now, my 

^^ lord, the king, thou knowest it not. And he has slain oxen, 
and fatted calves, and sheep in abundance, and has called all 
the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the 
captain of the host ; but Solomon thy servant has he not 

2^ called. And thou, my lord, the king, the eyes of all Israel 
are upon thee, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my 

2^ lord, the king, after him. And it will come to pass, when 
my lord, the king, lies down with his fathers, that I and my 
son Solomon shall be counted offenders. 

22 And, lol while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the 

23 prophet came in. And they told the king, saying : Behold, 
Nathan the prophet. And he came in before the king ; and 
he bowed down to the king with his face to the ground. 

2^ And Nathan said : My lord, the king, thou hast said, Adonijah 
shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne. For 
he has gone down this day, and has slain oxen, and fatted 
calves, and sheep in abundance, and has called all the king's 
sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest ; 

229 



25 



Chap. i. I. KINGS. 



and, behold, they eat and drink before him, and say : Long 
26 hve the king, Adonijah. But me, me thy servant, and 

Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy 
2"^ servant, Solomon, has he not called. Is this thing done by 

my lord, the king, and thou hast not made known to thy 

servants, who shall sit on the throne of my lord, the king, 

after him ? 
28 And king David answered and said : Call to me Bath-sheba. 

And she came into the king's presence, and stood before the 
2^ king. And the king swore, and said : As Jehovah lives, who 
^^ has redeemed my soul out of all distress ; even as I have 

sworn to thee by Jehovah God of Israel, saying : Assuredly 

Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon 
^1 my throne in my stead ; even so will I do this day. Then 

Bath-sheba bent down with her face to the earth, and bowed 

herself before the king, and said : Let my lord, king David, 

live forever. 

32 And king David said : Call to me Zadok the priest, and 
Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And 

33 they came in before the king. And the king said to them : 
Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon 
my son to ride upon my own mule, and bring him down to 

3^ Gihon. And let Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, 
there anoint him king over Israel ; and blow ye the trumpet, 

35 and say : Long live the king, Solomon. And ye shall come 
up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne ; for 
he shall be king in my stead, and him I appoint to be prince 

36 over Israel and over Judah. And Benaiah the son of 
Jehoiada answered the king, and said : So be it ! So say 

3"^ Jehovah, God of my lord, the king ! As Jehovah was with 
my lord, the king, so be he with Solomon, and make his 

38 throne greater than the throne of my lord, king David. And 
Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the 
son of Jehoiada, and the executioners, and the couriers, went 
down ; and they caused Solomon to ride upon king David's 

39 mule, and ' brought him to Gihon. And Zadok, the priest, 
took a horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solo- 

230 



I. KINGS. Chap. i. 



mon. And they blew the trumpet ; and all the people said : 

*^ Long live the king, Solomon. And all the people came up 
after him ; and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced 
with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of 
them. 

*^ And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard 
it ; and they had made an end of eating. And Joab heard 
the sound of the trumpet ; and he said : Wherefore is this 

*2 noise of the tumultuous city ? And while he was yet speak- 
ing, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. 
And Adonijah said to him : Come in ; for thou art a brave 

*^ man, and bringest good tidings. And Jonathan answered, 
and said to Adonijah : N"ay, but our lord, king David, has 

** made Solomon king. And the king has sent with him Zadok 
the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of 
Jehoiada, and the executioners, and the couriers, and they 

*^ have caused him to ride upon the king's mule ; and Zadok 
the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king 
in Gihon ; and they have come up from thence rejoicing, and 
the city is in tumult. This is the noise that ye have heard. 

\^ And also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom. And 
also the king's servants came to bless our lord, king David, 
saying : God make the name of Solomon better than thy 
name, and his throne greater than thy throne. And the 

*^ king bowed himself upon the bed. And also thus said the 
king : Blessed be Jehovah God of Israel, who has given one 

*^ to sit on my throne this day, my eyes beholding it. And all 
the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, 
and went every man his way. 

^ And Adonijah feared because of Solomon ; and he arose, 

^1 and went and laid hold of the horns of the altar. And it 
was told Solomon, saying : Behold, Adonijah fears king 
Solomon. And, lo! he has laid hold of the horns of the 
altar, saying : Let king Solomon swear to me this day, that 

" he will not slay his servant with the sword. And Solomon 
said : If he will show himself a worthy man, there shall not 
a hair of him fall to the earth ; but if wickedness shall be 

231 



Chap. n. I. KINGS. 



S3 found in him, he shall die. And king Solomon sent, and 
they brought him down from the altar. And he came and 
bowed himself down to king Solomon. And Solomon said 
to him : Go to thy house. 



1 And the days of David drew near that he should die. And 

2 he charged Solomon his son, saying : I go the way of all the 

3 earth ; and be thou strong, and show thyself a man. And 
keep the charge of Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, 
to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judg- 
ments, and his testimonies, as is written in the law of Moses ; 
that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whither- 

^ soever thou turnest thyself; that Jehovah may fulfill his 
word which he spoke concerning me, saying : If thy children 
take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all 
their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee, 

s said he, a man on the throne of Israel. And also thou 
knowest what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me ; what he 
did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, to Abner the 
son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, 
and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war 
upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that 

^ were on his feet. And do according to thy wisdom ; and let 

■^ not his hoary head go down to the grave in peace. And 

, show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let 
them be of those who eat at thy table ; for so they came to 

^ me when I fled before Absalom thy brother. And, behold, 
thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of 
Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day 
when I went to Mahanaim. And he came down to meet me 
at the Jordan ; and I swore to him by Jehovah, saying : I 

^ will not put thee to death with the sword. And now hold 

him not guiltless ; for thou art a wise man, and knowest 

what thou shouldst do to him ; and his hoary head bring 

1^ thou down to the grave in blood. And David lay down 

11 with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. And 

the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years. 

232 



I. KffiGS. Chap, il 



Seven years he reigned in Hebron, and thirty and three jeavs 
he reigned in Jerusalem. 

^2 And Solomon sat upon the throne of David his father ; and 
his kingdom was greatly established. 

^^ And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba the 
mother of Solomon. And she said : Comest thou peaceably ? 

^* And he said : Peaceably. And he said : I have somewhat 

1^ to say to thee. And she said : Say on. And he said : Thou 
knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel set their 
faces on me, that I should reign. And the kingdom is trans- 
ferred, and is become my brother's ; for it was his from 

^^ Jehovah. And now I make one request of thee ; deny me 

^■^ not. And she said to him : Say on. And he said : Speak, 
I pray thee, to Solomon the king, — for he will not say thee 
nay, — that he give me Abishag the Shunammite for a wife. 

^^ And Bath-sheba said : Well ; I will speak for thee to the 
king. 

1^ And Bath-sheba came to king Solomon, to speak to him 
for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and 
bowed himself to her, and sat down on his throne, and 
caused a seat to be set for the king's mother ; and she sat on 

20 his right hand. And she said : One small request I desire 
of thee ; say me not nay. And the king said to her : Ask, 

21 my mother ; for I will not say thee nay. And she said : Let 
Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah, thy brother, 

22 for a wife. And king Solomon answered and said to his 
mother : And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite 
for Adonijah ? And ask for him the kingdom, for he is my 
elder brother ; for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for 

23 Joab the son of Zeruiah. And king Solomon swore by 
Jehovah, saying : God do so to me, and more also, if Adoni- 

2* jah have not spoken this word against his own life. And 
now, as Jehovah lives, who has established me, and set me 
on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a ' 
house as he said, Adonijah shall be put to death this day. 

25 And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiali, the son of 
Jehoiada ; and he fell upon him, that he died. 

233 



Chap. n. I. KINGS. 



26 And to Abiathar the priest said the king : Go to Anathoth, 
to thy fields. For thou art worthy of death ; but I will not 
at this time put thee to death, because thou hast borne the 
ark of the Lord Jehovah before David my father, and be- 
cause thou wast afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. 

2*^ And Solomon drove out Abiathar from being priest to Jeho- 
vah ; that he might fulfill the word of Jehovah, which he 
spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. 

28 And the report came to Joab, — for Joab had turned away 
after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom, — and 
Joab fled to the tabernacle of Jehovah, and laid hold of the 

2-*^ horns of the altar. And it was told king Solomon, that 
Joab had fled to the tabernacle of Jehovah ; and, behold, he 
is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of 

^^ Jehoiada, saying : Go, fall upon him. And Benaiah came 
to the tabernacle of Jehovah, and said to him, thus says the 
king : Go forth. And he said : Nay ; but I will die here. 
And Benaiah brought back word to the king, saying : Thus 

2^ said Joab, and thus he answered me. And the king said to 
him : Do as he has said, and fall upon him, and bury him ; 
that thou mayest put away the innocent blood, which Joab 

^2 shed, from me and from the house of my father. And Jehovah 
will return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two 
men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with 
the sword, — my father David not knowing thereof, — Abner 
the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the 

^^ son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah. And let their 
blood return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of 
his seed forever ; and upon David, and upon his seed, and 
upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace 

2* forever from Jehovah. So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada 
went up, and fell upon him, and slew him. And he was 

2^ buried in his own house, in the wilderness. And the king 
put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the host. 
And Zadok the priest the king put in the place of Abiathar. 

^^ And the' king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him : 
Build for thee a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and 

234 



I. KINGS. Chap. m. 



^'^ go not forth thence anywhither. For on the day thou goest 
out, and passest over the brook Kidron, know certamly that 
thou shah surely die. Thy blood shall be upon thine own 

^^ head. And Shimei said to the king : The saying is good. 
As my lord, the kmg, has said, so will thy servant do. And 

^^ Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. And it came to pass 
at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei 
fled to Achisli son of Maachah, king of Qath. And they 

*^ told Shimei, saying : Behold, thy servants are in Gath. And 
Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish, 
to seek his servants ; and Shimei went, and brought his serv- 

*^ ants from Gath. And it was told Solomon that Shimei had 

*"^ gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned. And the 
king sent and called Shimei ; and he said to him : Did I not 
make thee swear by Jehovah, and protest to thee, saying : 
Know certainly, that on the day thou goest out, and walkest 
abroad anywhither, thou shalt surely die ? And thou saidst 

*^ to me : The word that I have heard is good. And why hast 
thou not kept the oath of Jehovah, and the command that I 

^^ have commanded thee ? And the king said to Shimei : Thou 
knowest all the wickedness of which thy heart is conscious, 
that thou didst to David my father. And Jehovah returns 

*^ thy wickedness upon thine own head. And khig Solomon is 
blessed ; and the throne of David shall be established before 

*^ Jehovah forever. And the king commanded Benaiah the 
son of Jehoiada ; and he went out, and fell upon him, that 
he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of 
Solomon. 

^ And Solomon formed affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, 
taking [in marriage] the daughter of Pharaoh. And he 
brouglit her into the city of David, until he had fmished 
building his own house, and the house of Jehovah, and the 

2 wall of Jerusalem round about. Only, the people had sacri- 
ficed on high places, because no house was built to the name 

^ of Jehovah, until those days. And Solomon loved Jehovali, 
walking in the statutes of David his father ; only, he sacri- 

235 



Chap. m. I. KINGS. 



* ficed and burnt incense on high places. And the king went 
to Gibeon to sacrifice there ; for that wis the great higli 
place. A thousand burnt-offerings did Solomon offer upon 
that altar. 

^ In Gibeon Jehovah appeared to Solomon in a dream by 

^ night. And God said : Ask, what I shall give to thee. And 
Solomon said : Thou hast shown to thy servant David my 
father great kindness, according as he walked before thee in 
truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with 
thee ; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that 
thou gavest him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 

■^ And now, Jehovah my God, thou hast made thy servant 
king in place of David my father ; and I am but a little child ; 

^ I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is 
in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great 
people, that cannot be numbered or reckoned up for multi- 

^ tude. Give, therefore, to thy servant an understanding heart 
to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and 

^^ evil ; for who is able to judge this thy great j)eople ? And 
the words pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this 

^^ thing. And God said to him : Because thou hast asked this 
thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life ; nor hast asked 
riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies ; 
but hast asked for thyself discernment to understand what 

^2 is right ; behold, I do according to thy word. Lo ! I give 
thee a wise and discerning heart ; so that like thee there was 
none before thee, nor after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 

^^ And I also give thee that which thou hast not asked, both 
riches, and honor ; so that there shall not be among the kings 

^* one like thee, all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my 
ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David 

1^ thy father walked, then will I lengthen thy days. And Solo- 
mon awoke ; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to 
Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of Jeho- 
vah, and offered up burnt-offerings, and brought peace-offer- 
ings, and made a feast to all his servants. 

^^ And two women, that were harlots, came to the king, and 

236 



I. KINGS. Chap. iv. 



^^ stood before him. And the one woman said : Beseech thee 
my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house ; and I bore 

^^ a child with her in the house. And it came to pass the third 
day after, that this woman also bore a child. And we were 
together ; no stranger was with us in the house, only we two 

^^ were in the house. And this woman's child died in the night ; 

2^ because she lay on it. And she rose in mid night, and took 
my son from beside me, while thy handmaid slept, and laid 

21 it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. And 
I rose in the morning to give my child suck, and, behold, it 
was dead. And I viewed it carefully in the morning, and, 

22 behold, it was not my son, which I bore. And the other 
woman said : Nay ; but the living is my son, and the dead is 
thy son. And this said : No ; but the dead is thy son, and 

23 the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king. Then 
said the king : The one says, This that lives is my son, and 
thy son is the dead ; and the other says. Nay ; but thy son 

2* is the dead, and the living is my son. And the king said : 

Bring me a sword. And they brought the sword before the 

25 king. And the king said : Divide the living child in two, 

2''' and give half to the one, and half to the other. Then spoke 

the woman whose was the living child to the king, — for her 

bowels yearned over her son, — and she said : Beseech thee 

my lord, give her the living child, and do not slay it. And 

the other said : Let it be neither mine nor thine ; divide it. 

2^ Then the kino- answered and said : Give her the livinor child, 

28 and slay it not ; she is its mother. And all Israel heard of 

the judgment which the king had judged. And they feared 

the king ; for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, 

to do judgment. 

^ AxD kin or Solomon was kins: over all Israel. And these 



were the princes which he had. Azariah the son of Zadok 
' the priest, Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes ; 
* Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder ; and Bcnaiah 

V. 2. Princes. Hijfhest officers of State, composing the king's court, holding office by bis 
appointment and (luring his pleasure. V. 3. liecorder. See 2 Sam. 8 : IG, and 20 : 24. 

237 



Chap, iv I. KINGS. 



the son of Jehoiada over the host ; and Zadok and Abiathar 
^ the priests ; and Azariah the son of Nathan over the officers ; 

and Zabud the son of Nathan chief officer, the king's friend ; 
^ and Ahishar over the household ; and Adoniram the son of 

Abda over the tribute. 
^ And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who made 

provision for the king and his household ; each man made 
^ provision for one month in the year. And these are their 
^ names. The son of Hur, on mount Ephraim ; the son of 

Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and 
1^ Elon-beth-hanan ; the son of Hesed, in Aruboth, who had 
^^ Socoh, and all the land of Hepher ; the son of Abinadab, on 

all the heights of Dor, who had Taphath the daughter of 
^'^ Solomon for a wife ; Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach 

and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is by Zartanah under 

Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, to the farther side 
^^ of Jokneam ; the son of Geber, in Bamoth-gilead, who had 

the villages of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, 

and the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great 
1* cities with walls and brazen bars ; Ahinadab the son of Iddo, 
1^ in Mahanaim ; Ahimaaz in Naphtali, who also took Basmath 
1^ the daughter of Solomon for a wife ; Baanah the son of 
1"^ Hushai in Asher and in Aloth ; Jehoshaphat the son of 
IS Paruah, in Issachar ; Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin ; 
1^ Geber the son of Uri in the land of Gilead, the land of Sihon 

king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan, and the only 

officer who was in the land. 
'^^ Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the 

sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry. 
21 And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the river 

to the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt. 

They brought tribute, and served Solomon all the days of 

his life. 



V. 5. Officers ; see vs. 7-19. Y. 21. The rwer. So the river Euphrates is often men- 
tioned withoiit further designation. See the references in the writer's note on Gen. 31 : 21. 
Tlie covenant with Abraham, Gen. 16 : 18, was now fulfilled, and the kingdom covered all the 
territory there promised. The reference in the note on Gen. 15 : 18 should have been to tbis 
passage. 

238 



I. KINGS. Chap. v. 



'^'^ And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures 
2^ of fnie flour, and threescore measures of meal ; ten fatted 

oxen, and twenty oxen of the pasture, and a hundred sheep, 

besides harts, and roebucks, and fallow deer, and fatted fowl. 
2* For he had dominion over all the region on this side of the 

river, from Tiphsah unto Gaza, over all the kings on this side 

of the river ; and he had peace on all sides round about him. 
25 And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his 

vine and under his fig tree, from Dan unto Beer-sheba, all the 

days of Solomon. 
2^* And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his 
2' cliariots, and twelve thousand saddle-horses. And those 

officers made provision for king Solomon, and for all that 

came to king Solomon's table, every man in his month ; they 
2s lacked nothing. And the barley and the straw for the horses 

and the coursers brought they to the place where he was, 

each according to his charge. 
29 And God gave to Solomon wisdom and discernment abim- 

dantly, and largeness of understanding, as the sand that is 
2° on the sea shore. And Solomon's wisdom was greater than 

the wisdom of all the sons of the east, and all the wisdom of 
3^ Egypt. And he was wiser than all men ; than Ethan the 

Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of 
32 Mahol ; and his name was in all the nations around. And 

he spoke three thousand proverbs ; and his songs were a 
^^ thousand and ^yq. And he spoke of the trees, from the 

cedar tree that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that springs out 

of the wall. And he spoke of beasts, and of fowl, and of 
^^ creeping things, and of fishes. And there came from all 

peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the 

earth, who had heard of his wisdom. 

^ And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon. 
For he heard that they had anointed him king in place of 

2 his father ; for Hiram was ever a lover of David. And Solo- 

3 mon sent to Hiram, saying : Thou knowest that David my 

V. 22. Measures. A measure (kor) contained about eleven bushels. 

239 



Chap. v. I. KINGS. 



father could not build a house to the name of Jehovah his 
God, for the wars which were about him on every side, until 

^ Jehovah put them under the soles of his feet. And now 
Jehovah my God has given me rest on every side ; there is 

^ no adversary, and no evil occurrence. And, behold, I pur- 

' pose to build a house to the name of Jehovah my God ; as 
Jehovah spoke to David my father, saying : Thy son, whom 
I will set in thy place upon thy throne, he shall build a house 

^ to my name. And now command that they cut for me cedar 
trees out of Lebanon ; and my servants shall be with thy 
servants ; and I will give thee hire for thy servants accord- 
ing to all that thou shalt say ; for thou knowest that none 
among us have skill to cut timber like the Sidonians. 

■^ And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of 
Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly. And he said : Blessed be 
Jehovah this day, who has given to David a wise son over 

^ this great people. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying : I 
have hearkened to that for which thou didst send to me, I 
will do all thou desirest, concerning timbers of cedar, and 

^ concerning timbers of cypress. My servants shall bring 
them down from Lebanon to the sea ; and I will make of 
them floats by sea to the place which thou shalt appoint me ; 
and I will take them apart there, and thou shalt receive 
them. And thou wilt do what I desire, in giving food for 

1^ my household. And Hiram gave to Solomon cedar trees 

^1 and cypress trees, all he desired. And Solomon gave to 
Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat as food for his 
household, and twenty measures of beaten oil. Thus gave 

^2 Solomon to Hiram year by year. And Jehovah gave Solo- 
mon wisdom, as he said to him. And there was peace be- 
tween Hiram and Solomon ; and they two made a league 
together. 

13 And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel ; and the 

1* levy was thirty thousand men. And he sent them to Leba- 
non, ten thousand a month by courses ; a month they were 

V. 11. Beaten oil. The purest ; obtained from the crushed fruit, without pressing it. See 
Ex. 27 : 20, and 29 : 40 ; Lev. 24 : 2 ; Num. 28 : 5. 

240 



I. KINGS. Chap. vi. 



in Lebanon, and two months at home ; and Adoniram was. 

1^ over the le\y. And Solomon had threescore and ten thou- 
sand that bore burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in 

^^ the mountains ; besides Solomon's chief-officers who were 
over the work, three thousand and three hundred, who ruled 

^^ over the people that wrought in the work. And the king 
commanded, and they quarried great stones, costly stones, 

^^ hewn stones to lay the foundation of the house. And Solo- 
mon's builders and Hiram's builders and the Gebalites carved 
them. And they prepared the timbers and the stones to 
build the house. 

^ And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year 
after the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in 
the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month 
Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the 

2 house of Jehovah. And the house which king Solomon 
built for Jehovah, the length thereof was threescore cubits, 
and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof 

3 thirt}^ cubits. And the porch before the temple of the house, 
twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth 
of the house ; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before 

^ the house. And for the house he made windows with fixed 
lattices. 

^ And against the wall of the house he built stories around, 
against the walls of the house round about, of the temple 

^ and of the oracle ; and he made side-chambers around. The 
lowest story was five cubits broad, and the middle was six 
cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad ; for in 
the wall of the house, on the outside, he made rests round 
about, tliat the beams should not be fastened into the walls 

' of the house. And the house, when it was in building, was 
built of whole stones from the quarry ; and neither hammers 
nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house, while it 

V. 18. The Gehaliles; inhabitants of Gebal, a maritime city of Phenicia. See Ezek. 27 : 9. 

V. 5. The oracle. The inner sanctuary, the holy of holies, the place of the ark, the sym- 

bol of the divine presence. See Ps. 28 : 2. V. 7. Whole stones. Whole, as they camo 

from the qnarry, and placed in the building without change. 

241 



Chap. vi. I. KINGS. 



^ was in building. A door for the middle chamber was on the 
right side of the house ; and they went up by winding stairs 
to the middle chamber, and from the middle to the third. 
^ And he built the house, and finished it ; and he covered the 
^^ house with beams and boards of cedar. And he built the 
stories against all the house, five cubits high ; and they rested 
on the house with timbers of cedar. 

11 And the word of Jehovah came to Solomon, saying : This 

12 house which thou art building, — if thou wilt walk in my 
statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my com- 
mandments to walk in them, — then will I fulfill my word 

1^ with thee, which I spoke to David thy father, and will dwell 
among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people 

It Israel. And Solomon built the house, and finished it. And 
he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar ; 
from the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling he cov- 
ered it on the inside with wood ; and he covered the floor of 

1^ the house with planks of cypress. And he built twenty cubits 
on the rear side of the house with boards of cedar, both the 
floor and the walls ; and within he built for it the oracle, the 

1"^ holy of holies. And the house, that is the temple before, 

1^ was forty cubits long. And the cedar of the house within 
was carved-work with gourds and opening flower-buds. All 

1^ was of cedar ; there was no stone seen. And the oracle he 
prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the 

2^ covenant of Jehovah. And the oracle within was twenty 
cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty 
cubits in the height thereof And he overlaid it with pure 

21 gold ; and he overlaid the altar with cedar. And Solomon 
overlaid the house within with pure gold. And he barred 
up with chains of gold before the oracle ; and he overlaid it 

22 with gold. And the whole house he overlaid with gold, till 
all the house was done. And the whole altar that was by 
the oracle he overlaid with gold. 

23 And within the oracle he made two cherubim of olive-wood, 

v. 16. The oracle. See the note on eh. 6 : 5.— Holy of holies. See Ex. 26 : 33 ^ 1 Kings 8.6: 
Heb. 9 ; 3. 

242 



I, KINGS. Chap. vi. 



^^ each ten cubits high. And five cubits long was the one wing 
of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub ; 
from the uttermost part of the one wing to the uttermost 

25 part of the other were ten cubits. And the other cherub was 
ten cubits. The two cherubs were of one stature and one 

26 form. The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so 
2^ was it of the other cherub. And he set the cherubim within 

the inner house. And they stretched forth the wings of the 
cherubim, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, 
and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall ; 
and their wings touched one another in the midst of the 

f^ house. And he overlaid the cherubim with gold. And he 
carved all the walls of the house round about with carved 
figures of cherubim and palm-trees and opening flower-buds, 

3^ within and without. And the floor of the house he overlaid 
with gold, within and without. 

2^ And for entrance to the oracle he made folding-doors of 
olive-wood : the lintel and side-posts were a fifth part [of 

32 the wall]. The two doors also were of olive-wood ; and he 
carved on them carvings of cherubim and palm-trees and 
opening flower-buds, and overlaid them with gold, and spread 

3^ out gold upon the cherubim, and upon the palm-trees. And 
so made he for the door of the temple-post of olive-wood, a 

^^ fourth part [of the wall]. And the two folding-doors were 
of cypress- wood ; the two leaves of the one door were fold- 

35 ing, and the two leaves of the other were folding. And he 
carved thereon cherubim and palm-trees and opening flower- 
buds, and overlaid them with gold fitted upon the carved 
work. 

^^ And he built the inner court with three rows of hewn 
stone, and a row of cedar-beams. 

3"^ In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of 

3^ Jehovah laid, in the month Zif And in the eleventh year, 
in the month Bui, which is the eighth month, was the house 
finished in all its parts, and according to all the fashion of it. 
And he was seven years in building it. 

243 



Chap. vii. I. KINGS. 



^ And Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, 
and he finished all his house. 

2 And he built the house of the forest of Lebanon. The 
length thereof was a hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof 
fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four 
rows of cedar-pillars, with cedar-beams upon the pillars. 

^ And it was covered with cedar above upon the side-cham- 

^ bers, that lay on forty-five pillars, fifteen in a row. And 
there were beams in three rows, and window against window 

^ in three ranks. And all the doors and door-posts were made 
square with layers of beams ; and window was against win- 
dow in three ranks. 

^ And he made the porch of the pillars ; the length thereof 
was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits ; and 
a porch before them, and pillars and steps before them. 

"^ And he made the porch of the throne where he should 
judge, the porch of judgment ; and it was covered with 
cedar from the floor to the floor. 

^ And his house where he dwelt, another court within the 
porch, was of like workmanship. Solomon made also a 
house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken, like unto 

^ this porch. All these were of costly stones, after the meas- 
ures of hewn stones, sawed with saws within and without, 
from the foundation to the coping, and from the outside to 

1^ the great court. And the foundation was of costly stones, 
great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits. 

^^ And a.bove were costly stones, after the measures of hewn 

12 stones, and cedars. And the great court round about was 
of three rows of hewn stones, and a row of cedar-beams, 
both for the inner court of the house of Jehovah, and for 
the porch of the house. 

1^ And king Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. 

1* He was the son of a widow, of the tribe of Naphtali ; and 
his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass. And he 

V. 6. The porch of the pillars. A colonnade, the portico of the building.— J. porch before 

them ; the vestibule, with columns and ascending steps. V. 7. From the floor to the floor. 

" From the floor to the ceiling ; the walls or sides from the bottom to the top." 

244 



I. KINGS. Chap. to. 



was filled with wisdom, and discernment, and skilled to work 
all work in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and 

^^ wrought all his work. And he formed the two pillars of 
brass. Eighteen cubits was the height of the one pillar, and 

^^ a line of twelve cubits encompassed the other pillar. And he 
made two capitals of molten brass, to set upon the tops of 
tlie pillars ; the height of the one capital was five cubits, 

1' and the height of the other capital was five cubits. Lattices 
of lattice- work, and festoons of chain- work, were on the 
capitals which were upon the top of the pillars ; seven for 

^^ the one capital, and seven for the other capital. And he 
made the pomegranates, and two rows around upon the 
one lattice, to cover the capitals that were on the top of the 

^^ pillars ; and so did he to the other capital. And the capitals 
that were on the top of the pillars were of lily-work in the 

2^ porch, four cubits. And the capitals on the two pillars were 
also above close upon the belly-like swell which was beyond 
the lattice ; and the two hundred pomegranates in rows were 

2^ round about on the other capital. And he set up the pillars 
at the porch of the temple. And he set up the right pillar, 
and called the name thereof Jachin ; and he set up the left 

22 pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz. And on the top 
of the pillars was lily-work. And the work of the pillars 
was finished. 

" And he made the molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim 
to the other, round all about ; and its height was five cubits, 

2^ and a line of thirty cubits encompassed it around. And 
under its brim round about were gourds encompassing it, ten 
in a cubit, encircling the sea round about in two rows. The 

2^ gourds were cast with it in the same casting. It stood on 
twelve oxen ; three looking toward the north, and three 
looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, 
and three looking toward the east ; and the sea was above 

26 upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. And its 
thickness was a hand-breadth ; and the brim thereof was 
wrought like the brim of a cup, like a lily-flower. It con- 
tained two thousand baths. 



v. 2C. Tu)0 Utomanc ballu. The bath ib estimated at about eight and a half gallons. 

245 



Chap. vii. I. KINGS. 



2^ And he made the ten bases of brass ; four cubits was the 
length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and 

25 three cubits the height of it. And the work of the bases 
was after this manner. They had panels, and the panels 

2^ were between the ledges. And on the panels that were be- 
tween the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubim : and upon 
the ledges was a stand above ; and beneath the lions and 

^^ oxen were garlands of hanging-work. And every base had 
four brazen wheels, and axles of brass : and the four feet 
thereof had shoulders ; under the laver were the shoulders 

^^ molten, each over against garlands. And the mouth of it 
within the capital and above was a cubit ; and the mouth 
thereof was round after the work of the base, a cubit and a 
half ; and also upon the mouth of it were carvings, and their 

^2 panels were four-square, not round. And under the panels 
were the four wheels ; and the axles of the wheels were in the 
base ; and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit. 

^^ And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot 
wheel. Their axles, and their naves, and their felloes, and 

^^ their spokes, were all molten. And there were four shoul- 
ders to the four corners of one base ; the shoulders were of 

^^ the base itself. And in the top of the base was a rounded 
circuit of half a cubit high ; and on the top of the base the 

^^ ledges thereof and the panels thereof were of the same. And 
on the plates of the ledges thereof, and on the panels thereof, 
he carved cherubim, lions, and palm-trees, according to the 

^^ space in every one, and garlands round about. After this 
manner he made the ten bases. All of them had one casting, 
one measure, and one form. 

^^ And he made ten lavers of brass. One laver contained 
forty baths ; every laver was four cubits, and upon every one 

^^ of the ten bases was one laver. And he put five bases on 
the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the 
house ; and he put the sea on the right side of the house 
eastward, over against the south. 



V. 38. One laver containing forty baths ; about 340 gallons. See tho note on ch. 7 : 26. 

•246 



I. KINGS. Chap. vm. 



^° And Hiram made the pots, and the shovels, and the 
basins. And Hiram made an end of doing all the work that 

*^ he made for king Solomon in the house of Jehovah ; two 
pillars, and the bowls of the capitals that were on the top of 
the two pillars ; and the two lattices, to cover the two bowls 

*2 of the capitals which were upon the top of the pillars j and 
the four hundred pomegranates for the two lattices, two rows 
of pomegranates for one lattice, to cover the two bowls of 

*3 the capitals that were upon the pillars ; and the ten bases, 

^* and the ten lavers on the bases ; and the one sea, and the 

^^ twelve oxen under the sea ; and the pots, and the shovels, 
and the basins. And all these vessels, which Hiram made 
for king Solomon in the house of Jehovah, were of burnished 

*^' brass. In the plain of the Jordan did the king cast them, in 

*' the dense soil between Succoth and Zarthan. And Solomon 
let all the vessels lie, on account of the very great number, nor 

*^ was the weight of the brass ascertained. And Solomon made 
all the vessels that were in the house of Jehovah ; the altar of 

^^ gold, and the table of gold whereon was the show-bread. And 
the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side and five 
on the left before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, 

^^ and the tongs of gold ; and the bowls, and the snuffers, and 
the basins, and the censers, and the snuff-dishes, of pure 
gold ; and the hinges of gold, for the folding-doors of the 
inner house, the holy of holies, and for the folding-doors of 

^^ the house, the temple. So was ended all the work that king 
Solomon made for the house of Jehovah, And Solomon 
brought in the things which David his father had dedicated ; 
the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, he put among the 
treasures of the house of Jehovah. 

^ Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the 
heads of the tribes, the chiefs of the fathers of the children 
of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the 
ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the city of David, 

T. 40. The pots ; caKlrons for boilinj? the flesh of the pcace-o2'ering8. V. 47. Let aUUw 

vessels lie ; as too numerous to be weighed. 

247 



Chap. vm. I. KINGS. 



2 which is Zion. And all the men of Israel assembled them- 
selves unto king Solomon, at the feast in the month Ethanim, 

^ which is the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel 

^ came ; and the priests bore the ark. And they brought up 
the ark of Jehovah, and the tabernacle of the congregation, 
and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle ; and the 

^ priests and the Levites brought them up. And king Solo- 
mon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled 
unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep 
and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude. 

^ And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Jeho- 
vah to its place, into the oracle of the house, into the holy 

■^ of holies, under the wings of the cherubim. For the cheru- 
bim spread out their two wdngs over the place of the ark ; 
and the cherubim covered the ark and the staves thereof 

^ above. And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the 
staves were seen from before the oracle, and they were not 

^ seen without ; and they are there unto this day. There was 
nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses 
put there in lioreb, when Jehovah made a covenant with the 
children of Israel, at their coming out from the land of Egypt. 

1^ And it came to pass, when the priests were come out from the 

^^ holy place, that the cloud filled the house of Jehovah ; and 
the priests could not stand to minister, because of the cloud ; 
for the glory of Jehovah filled the house of Jehovah. 

^2 Then said Solomon : Jehovah has said, that he would 

1^ dwell in the thick darkness. Surely I have built thee a 
house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in forever. 

^^ And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the con- 
gregation of Israel ; and all the congregation of Israel stood. 

1^ And he said : Blessed be Jehovah, God of Israel, who spoke 
with his mouth to David my father, and has with his hand 

1^ fulfilled it, saying : Since the day that I brought forth my 
people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the 
tribes of Israel, to build a house that my name might be 
therein ; and I chose David to be over my people Israel. 

^' And it was in the heart of David my father, to build a house 

248 



I. KINGS. Chap. vni. 



^^ to the name of Jehovah, God of Israel. And Jehovah said 
to David my father : Whereas it was in thy heart to build a 
house to my name, thou didst well that it was in thy heart. 

^^ Yet thou shalt not build the house ; but thy son, that comes 
forth from thy loins, he shall build the house to my name. 

2° And Jehovah has performed his word that he spoke ; and I 
am risen up in the place of David my father, and sit on tlie 
throne of Israel, as Jehovah said, and have built the house 

2^ to the name of Jehovah, God of Israel. And I have set 
there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of Jehovah, 
which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out 
of the land of Egypt. 

22 And Solomon stood before the altar of Jehovah, in the 
presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth 

23 his hands toward heaven. And he said: Jehovah, God of 
Israel ! There is no God like thee, in the heavens above, or 
on the earth beneath ; keeping the covenant and mercy to- 
ward thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart ; 

2^ who to thy servant David my father hast kept that which 
thou saidst to him ; and thou saidst it with thy mouth, and 

25 hast fulfilled it with thy hand, as it is this day. And now, 
Jehovah, God of Israel, keep to thy servant David my father 
that which thou didst speak to him, saying : There shall not 
fail to thee a man from before me, to sit on the throne of 
Israel ; if only thy children take heed to their way, to walk 

26 before me as thou hast walked before me. And now, 
God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which 

2" thou didst speak to thy servant David my father. But will 
God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven, and 
heaven of heavens, cannot contain thee ; how much less this 

2^ house which I have built? Yet have thou regard to the 
prayer of thy servant, and to his entreaty, Jehovah my 
God, to hearken to the cry and to the prayer, which thy 

^ servant prays before thee to-day ; that thine eyes may be 
open toward this house night and day, toward the place of 
which thou hast said. My name shall be there ; that thou 
mayest hearken to the prayer which thy servant shall make 

249 



Chap. vin. I. KINGS. 



30 toward this place. And hearken thou to the entreaty of thy 
servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray to- 
ward this place ; and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place ; 
hear, and. forgive. 

31 If any man trespass against his neighbor, and an oath be 
laid upon him to bind him by oath, and the oath come before 

32 thine altar in this house ; then hear thou in heaven, and do, 
and judge thy servant ; condemning the wicked, to bring his 
way upon his head, and justifying the righteous, to give him 
according to his righteousness. 

33 When thy people Israel are smitten down before the enemy, 
because they sin against thee, and shall turn again to thee, 
and acknowledge thy name, and pray, and make supplication 

3^ to thee in this house ; then hear thou in heaven, and forgive 
the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them back to the land 
which thou gavest to their fathers. 

35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they 
sin against thee, and they shall pray toward this place, and 
acknowledge thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou 

36 afiflictest them ; then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the 
sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou art 
teaching them the good way wherein they should walk, and 
give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people 
for an inheritance. 

3"^ If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blast- 
ing, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpillar ; if their enemy 
besiege them in the land of their cities ; whatsoever plague, 

38 whatsoever sickness there be ; what prayer and entreaty 
soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, who 
shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and shall 

39 spread forth his hands toward this house ; then hear thou in 
heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive, and do, and give to 
every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou 
knowest ; for thou only knowest the heart of all the children 

^0 of men ; to the end that they may fear thee, all the days that 

V. 37. Caterpillar. One of the stages through which the locust passes, before it reaches 
the winged state. 

250 



I. KINGS. Chat. vm. 



they live on the face of the ground which thou gavest to our 

*^ fathers. And also the stranger, who is not of thy people 
Israel, and comes from a far country for thy name's sake, — 

*"-^ for they will hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, 
and of thine outstretched arm, — and when he shall come and 

^^ pray toward this house ; hear thou in heaven thy dwelUng- 
place, and do according to all that the stranger calls upon 
thee for ; that all peoples of the earth may know thy name, 
to fear thee, as do thy people Israel ; and that they may 
know that this house, which I have built, is called by thy 
name. 

^* If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whith- 
ersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray to Jehovah 
toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the 

*^ house that I have built to thy name ; then hear thou in 
heaven their prayer and their entreaty, and maintain their 

*^ right. If they sin against thee, — for there is no man that 
sinneth not, — and thou be angry with them, and deliver 
them to the enemy, and their captors carry them away cap- 

^'^ tive to the land of the enemy, far or near ; and if they shall 
lay it to heart in the land whither they were carried captive, 
and turn, and make entreaty to thee in the land of their 
captors, saying : We have sinned, and have done perversely, 

^^ we have committed wickedness ; and they return to thee 
with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of 
their enemies, who carried them away captive, and pray to 
thee toward their land which thou gavest to their fathers, 
the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have 

*^ built to thy name ; then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling- 
place their prayer and their entreaty, and maintain their 

^° right, and forgive to thy people what they have sinned 
against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have 
transgressed against thee, and grant them compassion in 
presence of their captors, that they may have compassion on 

^^ them. For thy people and thine inheritance are they, whom 
thou didst bring out from Egypt, from the midst of the fur- 

52 nacc of iron ; that thine eyes may be open to the entreaty 



Chap. vin. I. KINGS. 



of thy servant, and to the entreaty of thy people Israel, to 
^^ hearken to them in all that they call upon thee for. For 
thou hast separated them to thee for thine inheritance from 
all the peoples of the earth, as thou saidst by the hand of 
Moses thy servant, when thou didst bring our fathers out 
^* from Egypt, Lord Jehovah. And it was so, when Solo- 
mon had made an end of praying to Jehovah all this prayer 
and entreaty, that he arose from before the altar of Jehovah, 
from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread out toward 
^^ heaven. And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of 
^^ Israel with a loud voice, saying : Blessed be Jehovah, who 
has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he 
has spoken. There has not failed one word of all his good 
words, which he spoke by the hand of Moses his servant. 
^^ Jehovah, our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. 
^^ Let him not leave us, nor cast us off; that he may incline 
our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his 
commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which 
^^ he commanded our fathers. And let these my words, where- 
with I have made entreaty before Jehovah, be near to Jeho- 
vah our God day and night, that he may maintain the right 
of his servant, and the right of his people Israel, at all times 
^^ as needed ; that all peoples of the earth may know that 
^1 Jehovah, he is God, and none beside. And let your heart 
be wholly with Jehovah our God, to walk in his statutes, 
and to keep his commandments, as at this day. 
^2 And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice 
^3 before Jehovah. And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace- 
offerings, which he o^ered to Jehovah, two and twenty 
thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. 
And the king, and all the children of Israel, dedicated the 
^^ house of Jehovah. On the same day the king hallowed the 
middle of the court that was before the house of Jehovah. 
For there he offered burnt-offerings, and meat-offerings, and 
the fat of the peace-offerings ; because the brazen altar that 
was before Jehovah was too little to receive the burnt-offer- 
ings, and meat-offerings, and the fat of the peace-offerings. 

252 



I. KINGS. Chap. ix. 



^^ And at that time Solomon held the feast, and all Israel with 
him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath 
unto the river of Egypt, before Jehovah our God, seven 

6^ days and seven days, fourteen days. On the eighth day he 
dismissed the people. And they blessed the king ; and they 
went to their tents joyful and glad of heart, for all the good 
that Jehovah had done to David his servant, and to Israel 
his people. 

^ And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the build- 
ing of the house of Jehovah, and the king's house, and all 

2 that Solomon desired and was pleased to do, that Jehovah 
appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared to 

3 him at Gibeon. And Jehovah said to him : I have heard 
thy prayer and tliy entreaty, which thou hast made before 
me ; I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to 
put my name there forever ; and my eyes and my heart shall 

* be there perpetually. And now if thou wilt walk before me, 
as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart and in up- 
rightness, to do according to all that 1 have commanded thee, 

^ and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments ; then will I 
establish the throne of thy kingdom over Israel forever, as I 
spoke to David thy father, saying : There shall not fail thee a 

^ man on the throne of Israel. If ye shall wholly turn away 
from following me, ye and your children, and will not keep 
my commandments and my statutes which I have set before 

■^ you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them ; then 
will I cut off Israel from the face of the ground which I have 
given them ; and the house, which I have hallowed to my 
name, will I cast out of my presence ; and Israel shall be a 

^ proverb and a by-word among all peoples. And this house 
shall be on high ; every one that passes by it shall be aston- 
ished, and shall hiss ; and they shall say : Why has Jehovah 

^ done thus to this land, and to this house ? And they shall 

V. 8. Shrill })e on high; a conspicuous object. There is allusion here to Dout. 26: 19 and 
28 : 1, "will set theo on hij^h above all nations." This blessinf? shall be chanf?ed to a curse. 
The temple, so high and far renowned, shall still remain so ; bnt in a contrary sense, as a sign 
of Israel's rejection from God's presence. ( KpU, on the passage.) 

253 



Chap. ix. I. KINGS. 



answer : Because they forsook Jehovah their God, who 
brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and clave to 
other gods, and worshipped them, and served them ; therefore 
has Jehovah brought upon them all this evil.. 
1^ And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when 
Solomon had built the two houses, the house of Jehovah, 

11 and the king's house, — now Hiram, the king of Tyre, had 
aided Solomon with cedar-trees and cypress-trees, and with 
gold, according to all his desire, — that then king Solomon 

12 gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. And Hiram 
came out from Tyre, to see the cities which Solomon had 

12 given him ; and they did not please him. And he said : 
What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother ? 

1* And he called them the land of Cabul, to this day. And 
Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold. 

1^ And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon 
raised ; to build the house of Jehovah, and his owm house, 
and the Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and 

1^ Megiddo, and Gezer. For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone 
up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the 
Canaanites that dwelt in the city ; and he gave it for a dowry 

1"^ to his daughter, Solomon's wife. And Solomon built Gezer, 

1^ and the lower Beth-horon, and Baalath, and Tadmor in the 

1^ wilderness, in the land ; and all the cities for store-houses 
that Solomon had, and cities for chariots, and cities for horse- 
men, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, 

20 and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. All 
the people that were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the 
Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of 

21 the children of Israel ; their children that w^ere left after 
them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able 
utterly to destroy, on them did Solomon levy a tribute of 

22 bond-service to this day. But of the children of Israel did 
Solomon make no bondmen ; for they were men of war, and 
his servants, and liis princes, and his captains, and rulers of 

23 his chariots, and his horsemen. These were the chief of the 

Y. 15. Milio. See the note on 2 Sam. 5 ; 9. 

254 



I. KINGS. Chap. x. 



officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, 

who bore rule over the people that wrought in the work. 
2* But the daughter of Pharaoh came up out of the city of 

David to her house which he had built for her. Then he 

built the Millo. 
2'^ And three times in a year Solomon offered burnt-offerings 

and peace-offerings on the altar which he built to Jehovah, 

and he burned incense at that which was before Jehovah. 

So he completed the house. 
26 And king Solomon made a navy of ships at Ezion-geber, 

which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the 
2^ land of Edom. And Hh^am sent in the navy his servants, 

shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of 
2^ Solomon. And they came to Ophir, and took from thence 

gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king 

Solomon. 

^ And the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon 
concerning the name of Jehovah ; and she came to try him 

2 with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a 
very great train, with camels bearing spices and very much 
gold and precious stones. And she came to Solomon ; and 

^ she talked with him of all that was in her heart. And Solo- 
mon told her all which she asked ; there was not anything hid 

* from the king which he told her not. And when the queen 
of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that 

^ he had built, and the food of his table, and the sitting of his 
servants, and the attendance of his ministers and their ap- 
parel, and his cup-bearers, and his burnt-offerings which he 
offered up in the house of Jehovah ; there was no more 

6 spirit in her. And she said to the king : It was a true report 
that I heard in my own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. 

"' But I believed not the words, until I came, and my eyes had 
seen it ; and, behold, the half was not told me ; thy wisdom 

^ and prosperity exceeds the fame which I heard. Happy are 

V. 25. CompMed the houae ; by the service for which it was designed. Before, it was a mass 
of earthly material only ; it now became the sanctuary of God. 

255 



Chap. x. I. KINGS. 



thy men, happy are these thy servants, who stand continually 

^ before thee, that hear thy wisdom. Blessed be Jehovah thy 

God, who dehghted in thee, to set thee on the throne of 

Israel ; because Jehovah loves Israel forever, and he made 

1^ thee king, to do judgment and justice. And she gave the 
king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices a 

T very great store, and precious stones. There came no more 
such abundance of spicery as these which the queen of Sheba 

^^ gave to king Solomon. And the navy also of Hiram, that 
brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir almug-trees 

12 [^ great plenty, and precious stones. And the king made of 
the almug-trees a railing for the house of Jehovah, and for 
the king's house, harps also and psalteries for singers. There 
came no such almug-trees, nor were seen, unto this day. 

^^ And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, 
whatsoever she asked, besides that which Solomon gave her 
of his royal bounty. And she turned and went to her own 
country, she and her servants. 

1^ Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year, 

^^ was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold ; besides 
that from the tradesmen, and from the traffic of the merchant- 
men, and from all the kings of the mixed races, and from the 
governors of the country. 

^^ And king Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten 
gold ; with six hundred shekels of gold he overlaid the one 

1"^ buckler ; and three hundred shields of beaten gold ; with 
three manehs of gold he overlaid the one shield. And the 
king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 

^^ And the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid 

1^ it with pure gold. The throne had six steps, and the top of 
the throne was round behind ; and there were arms on either 
side on the place of the seat ; and two lions stood beside the 

20 arms. And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on 

V. 15. The mixed races. See Jer. 25 : 24, "the mixed races who dwell in the desert." 
Probably tribes half Jewish half Arabian, on the borders of the western desert. (Speaker's 
Commenfary.) 

VV. 16, 17. The' gold shekel was in value about five and a half dollars.— The maneh was a 
hundred shekels, about five hundred and fifty dollars. The talent was a hundred shekels. 

256 



I. KINGS. Chap. xi. 



the other upon the six steps. The hke has not been made in 
any other kingdom. 

-^ And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and 
all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of 
precious gold. There was no silver ; it was accounted as 

22 nothing in the days of Solomon. For the king had at sea a 
navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram. Once in three 
years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold and silver, 
ivory, and apes and peacocks. 

2^ And king Solomon was greater than all the kings of the 

21 earth, in riches and in wisdom. And all the earth sought 
the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God 

2^ had put in his heart. And they brought every man his 
present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, 
and armor, and spices, horses, and mules, repeated year b}'' 
year. 

2^ And Solomon brought together chariots and horsemen. 
And he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and 
twelve thousand horsemen ; and he placed them in the cities 

2^ for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem. And silver 
the king made as stones in Jerusalem, and cedars made he 
as the sycamore-trees that are in the plain, for abundance. 

2^ And the horses which Solomon had were brought out of 
Egypt ; and a company of the king's merchants took a troop 

2- [of horses] at a price. And a chariot went out from Egypt 
and came up for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse 
for a hundred and fifty ; and so for all the kings of the Hit- 
tites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by 
their hand. 

^ And king Solomon loved many foreign women, together 

with the daughter of Pharaoh ; women of the Moabites, 

2 Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, Hittites ; of the nations 

Ch. xi. Tho history of Solomon's brilliant reign is here closed, with the sad record of the 
follies and sins of his old age. No such example is elsewhere recorded in history, of tho cor- 
rupting influences of wealth, of worldly honors and distinctions, and of impure and debasing 
domestic relationships ; for it knows no character, originally so pure, so exalted in principle 
and in purpose, tliat under these influences sunk so low. It illustrates the wisdom of the 
many warnings against them ia tho divine law, as in Deut. 8 : 13, U, 17, and 7 : 3, 4. 

257 



Chap. xi. I. KINGS. 



concerning which Jehovah said to the children of Israel : 
Ye shall not come among them, and they shall not come 
among you ; they will surely turn away your heart after 
their gods. To them did Solomon cleave, to love them. 

3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hun- 

^ dred concubines ; and his wives turned away his heart. And 
it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned 
away his heart after other gods ; and his heart was not wholly 
with Jehovah his Grod, as was the heart of David his father. 

^ And Solomon went after Ashtoreth. the goddess of the Zido- 
nians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites. 

^ And Solomon did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and went not 

■^ fully after Jehovah, as did David his father. Then did Solo- 
mon build a high place to Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, 
in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and to Molech, the abomi- 

^ nation of the children of Ammon. And so did he for all his 
foreign wives, who burnt incense and sacrificed to their gods. 

^ And Jehovah was angry with Solomon, because his heart 

was turned away from Jehovah, God of Israel, who had 

^^ appeared to him twice ; and had commanded him concerning 

this thing, that he should not go after other gods ; but he 

1^ kept not that which Jehovah commanded. And Jehovah 
said to Solomon : Forasmuch as this is thy way, and thou 
hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have 
commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, 
12 and will give it to thy servant. Yet, in thy days I will not 
do it, for the sake of David thy father ; out of the hand of 
1^ thy son will I rend it. Only, I will not rend away all the 
kingdom. One tribe I will give to thy son, for the sake of 
David my servant, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I 
have chosen. 

V. 5. Ashtoreth. See the writer's note on Judges 2 : 13, and on Gen. 14 : 5. —Milcom (also 
written Molech, v. 7), an idol god of the Ammonites, to Avhom infants were cruelly sacrificed. 
See 2 Chr. 28 :3 ; Jer. 7 : 31, and 19 : 5; Ezek. 23 : 37. Compare 2 Kings 17 : 17. 

V. 7, A high place. The us j of hi^h placvis, loity eminences, f jr the observance of religious 
rites, in itself natural and proper, was profaned by the superstitions and impure practices of 
heathenism, and hence was prospectively forbidden in Num. 33 : 52, and elsewhere. But it 
continued to be of frequent occurrence, as in 1 Sam. 10:5; and in 1 Kings 3 : 2, 3, 4, -where it 
is excused apparently, or at least explained, by the want of a commodious building of sufficient 

extent. ChemosJi. the national god of the Moabites. Num. 21 : 29 ; 2 Kings 23: 13; Jer. 

48 : 7, 13, 46. Mentioned apparently as a god of the Ammonites, Judges 11 : 24. 

258 



I. KINGS. Chap. xi. 

1* And Jehovah raised up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad 

15 the Edomite. He was of the royal seed, in Edom. For it 
came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the cap- 
tain of the host had gone up to bury the slain, and had smitten 

1^ every male in Edom, — for six months did Joab remain there 
with all Israel, until lie had cut off every male in Edom, — 

^'^ that Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's 
servants with him, to go into Egypt ; Hadad being yet a 

^^ little child. And they rose up from Midian, and came to 
Paran. And they took men with them from Paran, and 
came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt ; and he gave him 

1^ a house, and appointed him food, and gave him land. And 
Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh ; and he 
gave him a wife, the sister of his own wife, sister of Tahpe- 

^^ nes the queen. And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genu- 
bath his son ; and Tahpenes weaned him in Pharaoh's house. 
And Genubath was in Pharaoh's house among the sons of 

21 Pharaoh. And Hadad heard in Egypt that David lay with 
his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead. 
And Hadad said to Pharaoh : Let me depart, that I may go 

22 to my own country. And Pharaoh said to him : But what 
hast thou lacked with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to 
thy own country ? And he answered : Nothing ; but thou 
must let me go. 

2^ And God raised up an adversary to him, Kezon the son of 
Eliadah, who fled from his lord Hadadezer, kmg of Zobah. 

2^ And he gathered to himself men, and became captain over a 
band, when David slew them [of Zobah]; and they went to 

2^ Damascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in Damascus. And 
he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, besides 
the mischief that Hadad did ; and he abhorred Israel, and 
reigned over Syria. 

2« And Jeroboam the son of Nebat an Ephrathite of Zereda, 
— whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, — was 
a servant of Solomon ; and he lifted up his hand against the 

2^ king. And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand 

W. 27. 28. This was the cause : namely, what is stated in tljese two verses, in conneetion 
with the three that follow. The building, that is, the repairing or completing of the Milh., 

259 



Chap. xi. I. KINGS. 



against the king ; Solomon built the Millo, closed up the 

2^ breach of the city of David his father. And the man Jero- 
boam was a strong and capable man. And Solomon saw 
the young man that he was active in business, and he made 
him overseer of all the burden laid upon the house of Joseph. 

2^ And it came to pass at that time, when Jeroboam went out 
from Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found 
him in the way ; and he had clad himself with a new gar- 

^^ ment ; and they two were alone in the field. And Ahijah 
laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and rent it in 

^^ twelve pieces. And he said to Jeroboam : Take for thee ten 
pieces. For thus says Jehovah, the Grod of Israel: Behold, 
I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and 

32 ^i];[ giYQ tgn tribes to thee ; — but he shall have one tribe for 
the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, 
the city which I chose out of all the tribes of Israel ; — 

^^ because they have forsaken me, and have worshipped 
Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of 
the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, 
and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right 
in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as 

^^ did David his father. And I will not take the whole king- 
dom out of his hand ; but I will make him prince all the days 
of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose because 

^^ he kept my commandments and my statutes. But I will 
take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it to 

^^ thee, the ten tribes. And to his son will I give one tribe ; 
that David my servant may have a light always before me in 
Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for me to put my 

3"^ name there. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign ac- 
cording to all that thy soul desires, and thou shalt be king 

^^ over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken to all that 
I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that 
which is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my com- 

(aee the note on. 2 Sam. 5 : 9) to strengthen the city's defenses, was distasteful to the rival 
tribe of Ephraim; more especially as it was done by their compulsory labor. As Jeroboam 
went from Jerusalem to his charge, a message from the prophet marked outfor him his future 
course ; and there could not be wanting means to further his designs. 

260 



I. KINGS. Chap. xii. 



mandinents, as David my servant did ; that I will be with 

thee, and will build thee a sure house, as I built for David, 

^^ and will give Israel to thee. And I will for this afflict the 

*° seed of David ; but not forever. And Solomon sought to 

kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, 

to Shishak king of Egypt. And he w^as in Egypt until the 

death of Solomon. 

^1 And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, 

and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts 

^■^ of Solomon ? And the time that Solomon reigned in Jeru- 

^^ salem over Israel was forty years. And Solomon lay down 

with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his 

father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead. 

^ And Rehoboam went to Shechem. For all Israel came to 

2 Shechem, to make him king. And it came to pass, when 
Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it, — and he was yet in 
Egypt, whither he fled from king Solomon, and Jeroboam 

^ dwelt in Egypt, and they sent and called him, — that Jero- 
boam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spoke to 

* Rehoboam, saying : Thy father made our yoke heavy. And 
now, do thou lighten somewhat the hard service of thy father, 
and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, and we will serve 

^ thee. And he said to them : Depart for yet three days, and 
come again to me. And the people departed. 

^ And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, who stood 
before Solomon liis father while he yet lived, and said : How 

■^ do ye advise to make answer to this people ? And they spoke 
to him, saying : If to-day thou wilt be servant to this people, 
and wilt serve them, and hearken to them, and speak good 

^ words to them, then they will be thy servants forever. But 
he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they gave him, 

V. 7. If to-day thou wUl be servant. That is, if to-day thou wilt show thyself their servant, 
by compliance with their just and moderate demands. And wilt serve them, in the future, from 
this time forth. The Speaker's Ccjmmetdarij, "if thou wilt/or onne submit," misses the point 
altogether ; and the whole note is a misconception of the true relation of ruler and people. 
The advice of Solomon's old counselors was sound republican doctrine, whether the ruler rules 
by hereditary right or by the choice of the ruled; and accords with the beautiful conception 
of a wise and beneficent ruler, 2 Sam. 23 : 3, 4. 

261 



Chap. xn. I. KINGS. 



and consulted with the young men who grew up with him, 

^ who stood before him. And he said to them : What do ye 
advise that we sliould answer this people, who have spoken 
to me, saying : Lighten somewhat the yoke which thy father 

^^ put upon us ? And the young men who grew up with him 
spoke to him, saying : Thus shalt thou speak to this people 
that spoke to thee, saying : Thy father made our yoke heavy, 
and do thou lighten it upon us ; thus shalt thou say to them : 

^1 My little finger is thicker than my father's loins. And now, 
my father laid upon you a heavy yoke, and I will add to 
your yoke. My father chastised you with whips, and I will 
chastise you with scorpions. 

12 And Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on 
the third day, as the king appointed, saying : Come to me 

1^ again the third day. And the king answered the people 
roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave 

1^ him. And he spoke to them after the counsel of the young 
men, saying : My father made your yoke heavy, and I will 
add to your yoke ; my father chastised you with whips, and 

1^ I will chastise you with scorpions. And the king hearkened 
not to the people ; for the ordering was from Jehovah, that 
he might perform his saying, which Jehovah spoke by Ahijah 
the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 

1^ And all Israel saw that the king hearkened not to them. 
And the people answered the king, saying : What portion 
have we in David ? Nor have we inheritance in the son of 
Jesse. To your tents, Israel. Now see to thine own 

1^ house, David. And Israel departed to their tents. But as 
for the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah, 

IS Rehoboam reigned over them. And king Rehoboam sent 
Adoram, who was over the tribute ; and all Israel stoned him 
with stones, that he died. And king Rehoboam made haste 

1^ to get upon his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. So Israel re- 

20 belled against the house of David to this day. And it came 
to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, 

V. 15. The ordering. The turn of affairs, the course of things ; the direction they were 
taking. That direction was from Jehovah. 

262 



I. KINGS. Chap. xii. 



that they sent and called him to the congregation, and made 
him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the 
house of David, but the tribe of Judah only. 

21 And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem. And he assembled 
all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, a hun- 
dred and fourscore thousand chosen men, that were warriors, 
to fight against the house of Israel, to bring back the king- 

2-^ dom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. And the word of 

2' God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying : Speak to 
Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all 
the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the 

2* people, sa34ng : Thus says Jehovah : Ye shall not go up, 
and ye shall not fight against your brethren the children of 
Israel. Return every man to his house ; for this thing is 
from me. And they hearkened to the word of Jehovah, and 
went back, according to the word of Jehovah. 

2^ And Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and 
dwelt therein. And he went out from thence, and built 

2'» Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart : Now will the 

2' kingdom return to the house of David. If this people go up 
to offer sacrifices in the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem, then 
will the heart of this people return to their lord, to Reho- 
boam king of Judah ; and they will kill me, and return to 

28 Rehoboam king of Judah. And the king took counsel, and 
made two calves of gold. And he said to them : It is too 
much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Behold thy gods, 

2^ Israel, that brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And 
he set up the one in Beth-el ; and the other he put in Dan. 

^^ And this thing became a sin. And the people went before 

2^ the one, even unto Dan. And he made houses on high 
places ; and made priests from cAl of the people, who were 

32 not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam made a feast in the 
eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the 
feast that was in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. Ho 
did he in Beth-el, sacrificing to the calves that he made ; and 

V. 30. Before the one (one of the two), they went as far an to Dan. \ 31. Houses on 

high places ; hill-chapelB, for the idol and its worshippers. 

263 



Chap. xni. I. KINGS. 



he placed in Beth-el the priests of the high places which he 
^^ made. And he offered upon the altar which he made in 
Beth-el, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the 
month which he devised of himself. And he made a feast 
to the children of Israel ; and he went up to the altar, to 
burn incense. 

1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah, by 
the word of Jehovah, to Beth-el ; and. Jeroboam was stand- 

2 ing by the. altar, to burn incense. And he cried against the 
altar, by the word of Jehovah, and said : altar, altar, thus 
says Jehovah : Behold, a child shall be born to the house of 
David, Josiah by name ; and upon thee shall he offer the 
priests of the high places, that barn incense upon thee, and 

^ men's bones shall be burned upon thee. And he gave a sign 
the same day, saying : This is the sign that Jehovah has 
spoken : Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that 

^ are upon it shall be poured out. And it came to pass, when 
the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried 
against the altar in Beth-el, that Jeroboam stretched forth 
his hand from the altar, saying : Lay hold of him. And his 
hand, which he stretched forth against him, dried up, and he 

^ was not able to bring it back to him. And the altar was 
rent, and the ashes were poured out from the altar, accord- 
ing to the sign which the man of God gave by the word of 

^ Jehovah. And the king answered and said to the man of 
God : Entreat now Jehovah thy God, and pray for me, that 
my hand may be restored to me. And the man of God en- 
treated Jehovah, and the hand of the king was restored to 

■^ him, and became as before. And the king said to the man 
of God : Come with me to the house, and refresh thyself ; 

^ and I will give thee a present. And the man of God said 
to the king : If thou wilt give me half thy house, I will not 
go in with thee ; and I will not eat bread nor drink water in 

^ this place. For so was it commanded me by the word of 

Jehovah, saying : Thou shalt not eat bread, and thou shalt 

not drink water, and thou shalt not return by the way thou 

^^ camest. So he went by another way, and returned not by 

the way he came to Beth-el. 

264 



I. KINGS. Chap. xni. 



1^ Now there dwelt an old prophet m Beth-el. And his son 
came and told him all that the man of God had done that 
day in Beth-el ; and the words which he had spoken to the 

^•^ king they told to their father. And their father said to 
them : What way went he ? And his sons saw the way which 

^^ the man of God went, who came from Judah. And he said 
to his sons : Saddle for me the ass. And they saddled for 

^^ him the ass, and he rode thereon. And he went after the 
man of God, and found him sitting under the oak. And he 
said to him : Art thou the man of God who came from 

^^ Judah ? And he said, I am. And he said to him : Go to 

^^ the house with me, and eat bread. And he said : I cannot 
go back with thee ; and :I cannot go in with thee ; nor will I 

^'^ eat bread, or drink water with thee, in this place. For it 
was said to me bv the word of Jehovah : Thou shalt not eat 
bread, and thou shalt not drink water there ; thou shalt not 

^^ go back by the way thou camest. He said to him : I also 
am a prophet, as thou art. And an angel spoke to me by the 
word of Jehovah, saying : Bring him back with thee to thy 
house, that he may eat bread and drink water. He lied to 

1^ him. So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, 
and drank water. 

20 And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word 
of Jehovah came to the prophet that brought him back. 

21 And he cried to the man of God that came from Judah, 
saying : Thus says Jehovah : Because thou hast disobeyed 
the voice of Jehovah, and hast not kept the commandment 

22 which Jehovah thy God commanded thee ; and didst come 
back, and eat bread and drink water in the place, where he 
said to thee thou shalt not eat bread, and shalt not drink 
water ; thy corpse shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy 
fathers. 

23 And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after 
he had drunken, that he saddled for him the ass, for the 

2* prophet whom he brought back. And he went away. And 
a lion met him by the way, and slew him. And his corpse 

V. 14. The oak. A well-known feature of that place, and serving as a landmark. 

265 



Chap. xni. I. KINGS. 



was cast in the way ; and the ass stood by it, and the hoii 

2^ stood by the corpse. And, behold, men passed by, and savr 

the corpse cast in the way, and the hon standing by the 

corpse. And they came and told it in the city, where the 

26 old prophet dwelt. And the prophet that brought him bade 
from the way heard it ; and he said : It is the man of God, 
who disobeyed the voice of Jehovah. And Jehovah has 
delivered him to the hon, and he has torn him, and slain him, 
according to the word of Jehovah, which he spoke to him. 

27 And he spoke to his sons, saying : Saddle for me the ass. 
23 And they saddled him. And he went and found his corpse 

cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing beside the 
corpse. The hon had not eaten the corpse, and had not torn 

2^ the ass. And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of 
God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back ; and the 
old prophet came into the city, to mourn and to bury him. 

2^ And he laid his corpse in his own grave ; and they mourned 

31 over him, saying : Alas, my brother ! And it came to pass, 
after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying : 
When I die, bury me in the grave wherein the man of God 

32 is buried ; lay my bones beside his bones. For the saying 
which he cried, by the word of Jehovah, agahist the altar in 
Beth-el, and against all the houses on high places which are 
in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass. 

33 After this thing Jeroboam turned not from his evil way ; 
and he again made of all the people priests of the high 
places ; whosoever would, him he consecrated, and he was 

3* of tlie priests of the high places. And in this thing he be- 
came the cause of sin to the house of Jeroboam, to cut off 
and to destroy it, from the face of the earth. 

V. 31. The story of these two men is instructive in many points of view. The man of God 
continued faithful to his commission, resisting the strongest temptations of personal advan- 
tage. He was deluded from the right, by what in his weakness he believed to be a message 
from God. What God had commanded him, he kneijo ; and against this he weighed his belief 
of a pretended message. His tragic fate was the divine lesson.— To punish the seducer, he 
was made to communicate to the victim of his deception its fatal consequences ; and the bit- 
terness of remorse found its last expression in the plea, that he might share his victim's grave, 

and his bones be laid beside his. V. 33. Consecrated. Literally, filled his hand. See the 

note on Judges 17 : 5. 

266 



I. KINGS. Chap. xiv. 



2 At that time Abijah, the son of Jeroboam, was sick. And 
Jeroboam said to his wife : Arise, I pray thee, and disguise 
thyself, that it may not be known that thou art the wife of 
Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is 
there, who told me that I should be king over this people. 

2 And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of 
honey, and go to him ; he will tell thee how it will fare with 

* the child. And the wife of Jeroboam did so ; and she arose, 
and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. And 
Ahijah could not see ; for his eyes were set because of his age. 

^ And Jehovah said to Ahijah : Behold, the wife of Jero- 
boam comes to ask a thins; of thee concerninfjr her son : for 
he is sick. Thus and thus shalt thou say to her : for it will 
be, when she comes in, that she will feign herself to be an- 

^ other. And it was so, w4ieu Ahijah heard the sound of her 
feet, as she came in at the door, that he said : Come in, thou 
wife of Jeroboam ; why dost thou feign thyself to be another? 

^ For I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. Go, tell Jero- 
boam, thus says Jehovah, God of Israel : Because I exalted 
thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my 

^ people Israel : and rent the kingdom away from the house 
of David, and gave it to thee ; and thou hast not been as my 
servant David, who kept my commandments, and who fol- 
lowed me with all his heart, to do only that w^hich was right 

^ in mine eyes ; and hast done evil above all that were before 
thee, and hast gone and made for thee other gods, and molten 
images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy 

^^ back ; therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of 
Jeroboam, and will cut oft' from Jeroboam every male, bond 
and free in Israel ; and will take away the remnant of the 
house of Jeroboam, as a man takes away dung, till it is all 

^^ gone. Him that dies of Jeroboam ui tlie city shall the dogs 
eat ; and him that dies m the lield ^hall the fowls of the air 

^'^ eat ; for Jehovah has spoken it. And thou, rise up. go to 
thy house. When thy feet enter into the city, the child shall 

^^ die. And for him will all Israel mourn, and will bury hhn ; 

267 



CiLiP. XIV. I. KINGS. 



for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in 

him there is found something good toward Jehovah, God of 
^* Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. And Jehovah will raise 

up for himself a king over Israel, who shall cut off" the house 
^^ of Jeroboam in that day ; and what is even now ? And 

Jehovah will smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the w^ater ; 

and he will root out Israel from this good land, which he 

gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the river ; 

because they have made their Asheras, provoking Jehovah 
1^ to anger. And he will give up Israel because of the sins of 
. Jeroboam, who sinned, and who caused Israel to sin. 
1'^ And the wife of Jeroboam arose, and departed, and came 

to Tirzah. As she came to the threshold of the house, the 
^^ child died. And they buried him ; and all Israel mourned 

for him, according to the w^ord of Jehovah, which he spoke 
^^ by the hand of his servant, Ahijah the prophet. And the 

rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he wa^rred, and how he 

reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the Chroni- 
2^ cles of the kings of Israel. And the days which Jeroboam 

reigned w^ere two and twenty years. And he lay down with 

his fathers ; and Nadab his son reigned in his stead. 

21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. 
Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to 
reign ; and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city 
which Jehovah chose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put 
his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah the 

22 Ammonitess. And Judah did evil in the sight of Jehovah, 
and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they 

23 committed, above all that their fathers had done. And they 
too built for themselves high places, and images, and Asheras, 

2* on every high hill, and under every green tree. And there 
were also sodomites in the land ; they did according to all the 
abominations of the nations which Jehovah drove out before 
the children of Israel. 

V. 14. And what is even now ? What is now taking place, in the extinction of that line, by 

the death of the niQst promising heir to the throne? V. 15. Tlieir Asheras. Asheia was 

the name of a female idol. See the note on Judges 3 : 7. — 2 /le riter ; the Euphrates. — Wdl 
scaUer them. For the fulfillment, see 2 Kings 15 : 29 ; 17 : 6 and 23 ; 18 : 11 ; 1 Chr. 5 : 26. 

268 



I. KINGS. Chap. xv. 



2^ And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that 

2^ Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. And he 
took away the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the 
treasures of the king's house ; and he took away all ; and he 

2^ took away all the shields of gold which Solomon made. And 
king Rehoboam made in their stead brazen shields, and com- 
mitted them to the hand of the chiefs of the guard, who kept 

28 the door of the king's house. And it was so, when the king 
went into the house of Jehovah, that the guard bore them, 
and brought them back into the guard-chamber. 

2^ Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, 
are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the 

^^ kings of Judah ? And there was war between Rehoboam 

^^ and Jeroboam all the time. And Rehoboam lay down with 
his fathers ; and he was buried with his fathers in the city 
of David. And his mother's name was Naamah the Am- 
monitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead. 

^ And in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam, the son of 
2 Nebat, Abijam reigned over Judah. Three years he reigned 

in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the 
^ daughter of Abishalom. And he walked in all the sins of 

his father, which he had done before him ; and his heart was 

not wholly with Jehovah his God, as was the heart of David 
^ his father. But for David's sake Jehovah his God gave him 

a light in Jerusalem, in that he set up his son after him, and 
^ established Jerusalem ; because David did that which was 

right in the eyes of Jehovah, and turned not aside from any- 

tliing that he commanded him, all the days of his life, save 
^ only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. And there was war 

between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. 
' Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are 

they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings 

of Judah ? And there was war between Abijam and Jero- 
8 boam. And Abijam lay down with his fathers ; and they 

buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned 

in his stead. 

269 



Chap. xv. I. KINGS. 



^ And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam, king of Israel, 

^^ Asa reigned over Judah. And forty and one years reigned 

he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the 

^^ daughter of Abishalom. And Asa did that which was right 

12 in the eyes of Jehovah, as did David his father. And he put 

away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols 

1^ that his fathers made. And also Maachah his mother, her he 

removed from being queen, because she made an idol for 

Ashera ; and Asa cut down her idol, and burnt it by the 

1* brook Kidron. But the high places were not removed ; yet, 

1^ Asa's heart was wholly with Jehovah all his days. And he 

brought in the things which his father dedicated, and the 

things which he himself dedicated, into the house of Jehovah, 

silver, and gold, and vessels. 

1^ And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel 

^'^ all their days. And Baasha king of Israel went up against 

Judah, and built Bamah, that he might permit no one to go 

1^ out or come in to Asa king of Judah. And Asa took all the 

silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house 

of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king's house, and gave 

them into the hand of his servants ; and king Asa sent them 

to Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimon the son of Hezion, king 

1^ of Syria who dwelt at Damascus, saying : Let there be a 

league between me and thee, as between my father and thy 

father. Behold, I have sent to thee a present of silver and 

gold ; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that 

20 he may depart from me. And Ben-hadad hearkened to king 
Asa ; and he sent the captains of the hosts which he had 
against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and 
Abel-beth-maachah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of 

21 Naphtali. And it came to pass, when Baasha heard of it, 
that he left off building Bamah, and he remained in Tirzah. 

22 And king Asa summoned all Judah, no one was free ; and 
they took away the stones of Bamah, and the timbers there- 
of, with which Baasha had builded ; and king Asa built with 

23 them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah. The rest of all the 
acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the 

270 



I. KINGS. Chap. xvi. 



cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the 

Chronicles of the kmgs of Judah ? Yet, in the time of his 
2^ old age, he was diseased in his feet. And Asa lay down with 

his fathers ; and he was buried with his fathers in the city of 

David his father. And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his 

stead. 
25 And Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, began to reign over 

Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah ; and he 
2^ reigned over Israel two years. And he did evil in the sight 

of Jehovah ; and he walked in the way of his father, and in 

his sins whereby he caused Israel to sin. 
2" And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, 

conspired against him. And Baasha srr ote him at Gibbethon, 

which belonged to the Philistines ; and Nadab and all Israel 

28 were laying siege to Gibbethon. And Baasha slew him in 
the third year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his 

29 stead. And it came to pass, w^hen he was king, that he 
smote all the house of Jeroboam. He left not to Jeroboam 
any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according 
to the saying of Jehovah, which he spoke by his servant 

^^ Ahijah the Shilonite ; because of the sins of Jeroboam which 
he sinned, and whereby he caused Israel to sin, in his provo- 
cation wherewith he provoked Jehovah, God of Israel, to 
anger. 

31 Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are 
they not written in the books of the Chronicles of the kings 

2- of Israel? And there was war between Asa and Baasha 

3^ king of Israel, all their days. In the third year of Asa, king 
of Judah, began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all 
Israel in Tirzah, twenty and four years. And he did evil in 
the siglit of Jehovah ; and he walked in the way of Jeroboam, 
and in his sins whereby he caused Israel to sin. 

1 And the word of Jehovah came to Jehu, the son of 

2 Hanani, against Baasha, saying: Forasmuch as I raised thee 
up out of the dust, and made thee prince over ni}^ people 
Israel ; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and 
hast caused my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger 

271 



Chap, xvl I. KINGS. 



^ with their sins ; behold, I will take away the posterity of 
Baasha, and the posterity of his house ; and I will make thy 

^ house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Him 
that dies of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat ; and him 
that dies of his in the field shall the fowls of the air eat. 

^ Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, and what he did, and 
his might, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles 

^ of the kings of Israel? And Baasha lay down with his 
fathers ; and he was buried in Tirzah. And Elah his son 

■^ reigned in his stead. And also, by the hand of the prophet 
Jehu the son of Hanani, came the word of Jehovah against 
Baasha and against his house, as well for all the evil that he 
did in the sight of Jehovah, in provoking him to anger with 
the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, 
as because he had smitten him. 

s In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began 
Elah, the son of Baasha, to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two 

^ years. And his servant Zimri, captain of half the chariots, 
conspired against him. And he was in Tirzah, drinking 
himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the house 

1^ in Tirzah ; and Zimri came in, and smote him, and killed 
him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa kmg of Judah, 
and reigned in his stead. 

11 And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as 
he sat on his throne, that he smote all the house of Baasha ; 
he left him not a male, of his kinsmen, or of his friends. 

12 And Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha ; according to 
the word of Jehovah, which he spoke against Baasha by 

13 Jehu the prophet ; for all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of 
Elah his son, whereby they sinned, and whereby they caused 
Israel to sin, to provoke Jehovah, God of Israel to anger 

1^ with their vanities. Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and 
all that he did, are they not written in the book of the 
Chronicles of the kings of Israel ? 

1^ In the twenty and seventh year of Asa, king of eludah, 

V. 13. Vanity (properly, a breath) is a term often contemptuously applied to the idols of 
the heathen. Deut. 32 : 21 ; Jer. 8 : 19, and 10 : 8. 

272 



I. KINGS. Chap. xvi. 



did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzali. And the people were 
encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philis- 

^'' tines. And the people that were encamped heard it said : 
Zimri has conspired, and has also slain the king. And all 
Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel 

^' that day in the camp. And Omri went up from Gibbethon, 

^^ and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. And it 
came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that 
he went to the tower of the king's house, and burned the 

^^ king's house over him with fire, and he died ; for his sins 
which he sinned in that he did evil in the sight of Jeho- 
vah, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin 

20 which he did to cause Israel to sin. Now the rest of the 
acts of Zimri, and his conspiracy that he made, are they not 
written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel? 

2^ Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts ; 
half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make 

22 him king, and half followed Omri. And the people that 
followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed 
Tibni the son of Ginath. And Tibni died ; and Omri was 
king. 

23 III the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began 
Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years ; six years he reigned 

2^ in Tirzah. And he bought the hill Samaria, of Shemer, for 
two talents of silver. And he built on the hill ; and the 
name of the city which he built he called Samaria, after the 
name of Shemer, owner of the hill. 

25 And Omri did evil in the eyes of Jehovah ; and he wrought 

2<^ evil more than all that were before him. And he walked in 
all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sins 
whereby he caused Israel to sin, to provoke Jehovah, God 

2'^ of Israel to anger with their vanities. Now the rest of the 
acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he showed, 
are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the 

28 kings of Israel? And Omri lay down with his fathers, and 
was buried in Samaria. And Ahab his soji r.eigned in his 
stead. 

273 



Chap. xvn. I. KINGS. 



2^ And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa, king of Judah, 
began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel. And 
Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria, twenty 

^^ and two years. And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the 

^^ sight of Jehovah, more than all that were before him. And 
it came to pass, — was it a light thing for him to walk in the 
sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, — -that he took for a wife 
Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and 

^2 went and served Baal, and worshipped him. And he erected 
an altar to Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in 

^^ Samaria. And Ahab made the Ashera. And Ahab did 
more to provoke Jehovah, God of Israel to anger, than all 
the kings of Israel that were before him. 

2^ In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho. He laid 
the foundation thereof in Abiram his first-born, and he set 
up the gates thereof in his 3^oungest son Segub ; according 
to the word of Jehovah, which he spoke by Joshua the son 
of Nun. 

^ And Elijah the Tishbite, of the sojourners in Gilead, said 
to Ahab : As Jehovah God of Israel lives, before whom I 
stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but ac- 

2 cording to my word. And the word of Jehovah came to 

^ him, saying : Go hence, and turn eastward, and hide thyself 

* by the brook Cherith, that is toward the Jordan. And it 
shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook ; and I have 

^ commanded the ravens to sustain thee there. And he went 
and did according to the word of Jehovah. And he went 
and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is toward the Jordan. 

^ And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, 
and bread and flesh in the evening ; and he drank out of the 

'^ brook. And it came to pass after a time, that the brook 
dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. 

V. 32. Baal. See the notes on Judges 2 : 11 and 13, and the writer's note on Gen. 14 : 5, 

there referred to. Ethbaal is thought to have been a priest of Baal. V. 33. The Ashera ; 

the wooden statue, or pillar, of that female idol. See the note on Judges 3 : 7 V. 34. See 

the note on Josh. 6 : 26. 

274 



I. KINGS. CmiP. xvn. 



I And the word of Jehovah came to him, saying : Arise, go 
to Zarephath, which belongs to Zidon, and abide there. 
Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain 

1^ thee. And he arose, and went to Zarephath. And he came 
to the entrance of the city ; and behold there a widow woman, 
gathering sticks. And he called to her, and said : Fetch me, 
I pray thee, a little water in the vessel, that I may drink. 

1^ And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said : 

^2 Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand. And 
she said : As Jehovah thy God lives, I have not a loaf, but 
a handful of meal in the bucket, and a little oil in the cruse. 
And, behold, I am gathering a few sticks, that I may go in 
and prepare it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and 

1^ die. And Elijah said to her : Fear not ; go in, do as thou 
hast said. But make me thereof a little cake first, and bring 
it out to me, and afterward make for thee and for thy son. 

^* For thus says Jehovah, God of Israel : The bucket of meal 
shall not be spent, nor shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day 

^^ that Jehovah shall give rain on the face of the ground. And 
she went, and did according to the word of Elijah. And he, 

^^ and she, and her house, did eat many days. The bucket of 
meal was not spent, nor did the cruse of oil fail, according 
to the word of Jehovah, which he spoke by Elijah. 

^' And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the 
woman, the mistress of the house, was sick ; and his sickness 

^^ was very sore, so that there was no breath left in him. And 
she said to Elijah : What have I to do with thee, thou man 
of God ? Camest thou to me to bring my sin to remem- 

^* brance, and to slay my son ? And he said to her : Give me 
thy son. And he took him from her bosom, and carried him 
up into the upper-chamber, where he abode, and laid him on 

2^ his own bed And he cried to Jehovah, and said : Jehovah 
my God, hast thou also upon the widow with whom I sojourn 

21 brought evil, by slaying her son ? And he stretched himself 
upon the child three times, and cried to Jehovah, and said : 
Jehovah my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into 

22 him again. And Jehovah heard the voice of Elijah ; and 

276 



Chap. xvin. I. KINGS. 

the soul of the child came into him again, and he lived. 
23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down from the 

upper-chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother ; 
2^ and Elijah said : See, thy son lives. And the woman said 

to Elijah : Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, 

and the word of Jehovah in thy mouth is truth. 

1 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of 
Jehovah came to Elijah in the third year, saying : Go, show 
thyself to Ahab ; and I will send rain upon the face of the 

2 ground. And Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. And 
^ the famine was sore in Samaria. And Ahab called Obadiah, 

who was over the house. Now Obadiah feared Jehovah 

^ greatly. And it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets 
of Jehovah, that Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid 
them, by fifty men in a cave, and sustained them with bread 

^ and water. And Ahab said to Obadiah : Go through the 
land, to all fountains of water, and to all brooks. Perhaps 
we shall find grass, and sa.ve the horses and mules alive, that 

^ we lose not any of the beasts. And they divided the land 
between them, to pass through it. Ahab went one way by 
himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. 

^ And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him. 
And he knew him, and fell on his face, and said : Art thou 

^ here, my lord Elijah? And he answered him, lam. Go, 

^ tell thy lord, behold, Elijah is here. And he said : In what 
have I sinned, that thou wouldst deliver thy servant into the 

1^ hand of Ahab, to slay me? As Jehovah thy God lives, 
there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord has not sent 
to seek thee ; and when they said : He is not here, he took 
an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee 

^^ not. And now thou sayest : Go, tell thy lord, behold, Elijali 

^2 is here. And it will be, when I am gone from thee, that 
the Spirit of Jehovah will take thee whither I know not ; 
and when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he 
will slay me. And I thy servant fear Jehovah from my 

^ youth. Was it not told my lord what I did, when Jezebel 

276 



I. KESFGS. Chap. xvm. 



slew the prophets of Jehovah ; and I hid a hundred men of 

Jehovah's prophets, by fifty men in a cave, and sustained 

1* them with bread and water ? And now thou sayest : Go, tell 

1^ thy lord, behold, Ehjah is here ; and he will slay me. And 

Elijah said : As Jehovah of hosts lives, before whom I stand, 

16 I will surely show myself to him to-day. And Obadiah went 

to meet Ahab, and told him ; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 

1^ And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab 

1^ said to him : Art thou here, thou troubler of Israel ? And 

he said : I have not troubled Israel ; but thou, and thy 

father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments 

1^ of Jehovah, and thou hast gone after the Baals. And now 

send, gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel ; and the 

prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of 

20 Ashera four hundred, who eat at Jezebel's table. And Ahab 
sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets 

21 together unto mount Carmel. And Elijah came to all the 
people, and said : How long halt ye between two opinions ? 
If Jehovah be God, follow him ; and if Baal, then follow 

22 him. And the people answered him not a word. And Elijah 
said to the people : I, I only, remain a prophet of Jehovah ; 

23 and Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let 
there be given us two bullocks. And let them choose one 
bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the 
wood, and put to it no fire ; and I will prepare the other 

2* bullock, and lay it on the wood, and put to it no fire. And 
call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name 
of Jehovah ; and the God that answers by fire, let him be 
God. And all the people answered and said : It is well 

25 spoken. And Elijah said to the prophets of Baal : Choose 

V. 18. Ye have forsaken; thou and thy father's honae.— And thou hast added to their sins 
the worship of Baal. The worship of the golden calves, though a virtual denial of Jehovah 
and subversive of his spiritual service, yet recognized the traditions of a national deliverance, 
and a bond of national unity. Compare ch. 12 : 28 with Ex. 32 : 4. With the worship of Baal 
came in a foreign religion, and the contaminations of heathen idolatry ; tending to blot out 
all trace and remembrance of the national relation to Jehovah, and the nature of his worship. 
•'Jeroboam's calf-worship might still seem to be Jehovah-worship, but the Baal and Astarte 
[Ashera] worship, never." Schaff's edition of Lnnge'z Commentary. — The Banls. See the 

note on Judges 2 : 11. V. 21. How long halt ye; like a lame man, limping from side to 

side.— Two opinions ; or, two parties. 

277 



Chap. x\iii. I. KINGS. 



for you one bullock, and prepare it first, for ye are many ; 
and call on the name of your gods, and put to it no fire. 

26 And they took the bullock that was given them, and prepared 
it ; and they called on the name of Baal from morning and 
till noon, saying : Baal, answer us. And there was no 
voice, and no one answered. And they danced about the 

^'^ altar that was made. And it came to pass at noon, that 
Elijah mocked them, and said : Cry, with a loud voice ; for 
he is a god. Either he is talking, or he is gone aside, or he 
is on a journey ; perhaps he is asleep, and must be waked. 

2^ And they cried with a loud voice, and cut themselves after 
their manner with knives and lances, till the blood gushed 

2^ out upon them. And it was so, when mid-day was past, that 
they raved till toward the offering of the [evening] sacrifice. 
And there was no voice, and no one answered, and no one 
heeded. 

3^ And Elijah said to all the people : Come near to me. And 
all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar 

2^ of Jehovah that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve 
stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of 
Jacob, — to whom the word of Jehovah came, saying : Israel 

22 shall be thy name, — and with the stones he built an altar in 
the name of Jehovah. And he made a trench about the 

2^ altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. And he 
put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid 
him on the wood. And he said : Fill four buckets with water, 

2^ and pour it on the burnt-offering, and on the wood. And he 
said : Do it the second time ; and they did it the second time. 
And he said : Do it the third time ; and they did it the third 

2^ time. And the water ran round about the altar ; and he 
filled the trench also with water. 

26 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the 
[evening] sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and 
said : Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel ; let it be 
known this day that thou art God in Israel ; and that I am 

V. 82. Seah ; a measure holding about three gallons. V. 36. The evening sacrifice was 

offered, probably, about three o'clock on the afternoon. 

278 



I. KINGS. Chap. xix. 



thy servant, and have done all these things at thy word. 

^^ Answer me, Jehovah, answer me ; that this people may 
know that thou Jehovah art Grod, and thou turnest back 

3^ their heart. And there fell fire from Jehovah ; and it con- 
sumed the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and 
the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 

^^ And all the people saw it, and they fell on their faces ; and 

*^ they said : Jehovah, he is God ; Jehovah, he is God. And 
Elijah said to them : Seize the prophets of Baal ; let not one 
of them escape. And they seized them ; and Elijah brought 
them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. 

*^ And Ehjah said to Ahab : Go up, eat and drink ; for there 

*2 is a sound of abundance of rain. And Ahab went up, to eat 
and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel ; 
and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face 

*^ between his knees. And he said to his servant : Go up now, 
look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked ; and he 
said : There is nothing. And he said : Go again, seven times. 

*^ And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said : Behold, 
a little cloud like a man's hand, rising from the sea. And he 
said, go up, say to Ahab : Prepare thy chariot and go down, 

*^ that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass meanwhile, 
that the heavens were black with clouds and wind, and there 

^ was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. And 
the hand of Jehovah was upon Elijah ; and he girded up his 
loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. 

^ And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done ; and all 

2 how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. And 
Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying : So let the gods 
do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of 

3 one of them, by this time to-morrow. And when he saw 

V. 40. The Kinhon flowed into the Mediterranean at the foot of mount Carmel. When 
■wollen by the heavy rains, it would carry ofif the dead bodios into the sea.— " Elijah's act is 
to be justified by the express command of the law, that idolatrous Israelites should be put to 
death, and by the right of a prophet, under the theocracy, to execute the law when the king 

failed in his duty." (Speaker's Commenlanj.) V. 4G. The hand of Jehovah was upon 

Elijah. 8. e the note on Is. 8 : 11. 



279 



Chap. xix. I. KINGS. 



that, he arose and went for his hfe ; and he came to Beer- 
sheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 

* And he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. 
And he came and sat down under a broom-plant ; and he 
asked for his hfe, that he might die. And he said : It is 
enough ; take now my life, Jehovah, for I am not better 

^ than my fathers. And he lay down and slept under a broom- 
plant ; and, lo ! then an angel touched him, and said to him : 

^ Arise, eat. And he looked, and behold, at his head a cake 
baked on heated stones, and a cruse of water. And he ate 

■^ and drank, and lay down again. And the angel of Jehovah 
came again the second time, and touched him, and said : 

^ Arise, eat ; for the journey is too great for thee. And he 
arose, and ate and drank ; and he went in the sti;ength of 
that meal forty days and forty nights, unto Horeb the mount 
of God. 

9 And he came thither to the cave, and passed the night 
there. And, behold, the word of Jehovah came* to him ; 

1^ and he said to him : What doest thou here, Elijah ? And he 
said : I have been very zealous for Jehovah, God of hosts ; 
for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thine 
altars they have thrown down, and thy prophets they have 
slain with the sword ; and 1 only am left and they seek my 

11 life, to take it away. And he said : Go forth, and stand 
upon the mount before Jehovah ; and, behold, Jehovah 
passing by, and a great and strong wind rending the mount- 
ains, and breaking in pieces the rocks before Jehovah, — 
Jehovah was not in the wind ; and after the wind an earth- 

12 quake, — Jehovah was not in the earthquake : and after the 
earthquake a fire, — Jehovah was not in the fire ; and after 

13 the fire a still, small voice. And it was so, when Elijah 
heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went 

v. 3. Went for 7iis life. He had no right to presume on divine protection, when safety 

could be found in flight. But at the call of duty, he fearlessly faced danger and death. 

V. 4. Asked for Ms life, thai he might die ; asked that it might be granted him in that sense, 

as not to be prolonged. See the writer's note on Jonah 4 : 8. V. 8. It is not meant, that 

l)e took no other food. What he had eaten gave him strength to subsist on the wild fruits 
and roots found in the fields. 

280 



I. KINGS. Chap. xx. 



forth, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, 
there came a voice to him, and said : What doest thou here, 

^* Ehjah ? And he said : I have been very zealous for Jeho- 
vah, God of hosts. For the children of Israel have forsaken 
thy covenant ; thine altars have they thrown down, and thy 
prophets they have slain with the sword ; and I only am left, 

^'' and they seek my life, to take it away. And Jehovah said 
to him : Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damas- 
cus. And when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over 

^^ Syria. And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be 
king over Israel ; and Elisha the son of Shaphat, of Abel- 

^"^ meholah, shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy place. And 
it shall be, that him that escapes from the sword of Hazael 
shall Jehu slay ; and him that escapes from the sword of 

1^ Jehu shall Elisha slay. I have yet left me in Israel seven 
thousand, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and 
every mouth that has not kissed him. 

1^ And he departed thence ; and he found Elisha, the son of 
Shaphat. And he was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen 
before him, and he was with the twelfth. And Ehjah passed 

2^ by liim, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, 
and ran after Elijah, and said : Let me, I pray thee, kiss my 
father and my mother, and I will follow thee. And he said 

21 to him : Go, return ; for what have I done to thee ? And he 
returned back from him. And he took the yoke of oxen, 
and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the harness of the 
oxen ; and he gave to the people, and they ate. And he 
arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered to him. 

^ AxD Ben-hadad, the king of Syria, gathered all his host 
together ; and thirty and two kings were with him, and 
horses, and chariots. And he went up and laid siege to 

2 Samaria, and fought against it. And lie sent messengers to 
Ahab, king of Israel, into the city. And he said to him : 

3 Thus says Ben-hadad ; thy silver and thy gold are mine ; and 
* thy wives and thy children, the goodliest, they are mine. And 

the king of Israel answered and said : According to thy say- 



Chap. xx. L KINGS. 



^ ing, my lord the king, I am thine, and all that I have. And 
the messengers came again, and said : Thus speaks Ben-ha- 
dad, saying ; although I have sent to thee saying, thou shalt 
give to me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy 

^ children ; yet I will send my servants to thee to-morrow 
about this time, and ihey shall search thy house, and the 
houses of thy servants ; and it shall be, that whatsoever is 
the delight of thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and 
take it away. 

■^ Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, 
and said : Mark, I pray you, and see that this man is seeking 
mischief For he sent to me for my wives, and for my chil- 
dren, and for my silver, and for my gold ; and I kept back 

^ nothing from him. And all the elders, and all the people, 

^ said to him : Do not hearken ; and consent not. And he 
said to the messengers of Ben-hadad : Tell my lord the king, 
all that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first, I will 
do ; but this thing I may not do. And the messengers de- 

^^ parted, and brought him back word. And Ben-hadad sent 
to him, and said : The gods do so to me, and more also, if 
the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls, for all the 

^^ people that follow me. And the king of Israel answered 
and said, tell him : Let not him that girds on his armor boast 

12 as he that puts it off. And it came to pass, when he heard 
this message, — and he was drinking, he and the kings, in 
the pavilions, — that he said to his servants : Set yourselves 
in array. And they set themselves in array against the city. 

1^ And, behold, there came a prophet to Ahab king of Israel, 
saying, thus says Jehovah : Hast thou seen all this great 
multitude ? Behold, I will give it into thy hand this day ; 

1* and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah. And Ahab said : 
By whom ? And he said, thus says Jehovah : By the young 
men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said : Who 

1^ shall begin the battle ? And he answered : Thou. Then he 
numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, 
and they were two hundred and thirty-two. And after them 
he numbered all the people, all the children of Israel, seven 

282 



I. KINGS. Chap. xx. 



^^ thousand. And they went out at mid-day. And Ben-hadad 
was drinking himself drunk in the paviHons, he and the kings, 

^■^ the thirty and two kings that helped him. And the young 
men of the princes of the provinces went out first. And 
Ben-hadad sent, and they told him, saying : There are men 

^^ coming out from Samaria. And he said : If they come out 
for peace, seize them alive ; and if they come out for war, 

^^ seize them alive. And these young men of the princes of 
the provinces came out from the city, and the army which 

2^ followed them. And they smote every one his man ; and 
the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them. And Ben-hadad 

21 the king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen. And 
the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and the 
chariots ; and he smote the Syrians with a great slaughter. 

22 And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said to 
him : Gro, strengthen thyself; and marlc, and see what thou 
must do. For at the return of the year the king of Syria 

2^ will come up against thee. And the servants of the king of 
Syria said to him : Their gods are gods of the hills ; there- 
fore they were stronger than we. But if we fight with them 

2^ in the plain, we shall surely be stronger than they. And this 
thing do ; remove the kings, every one from his place, and 

2^ put governors in their places. And thou shalt number for 
thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for 
horse, and chariot for chariot ; and if we fight them in the 
plain, we shall surely be stronger than they. And he heark- 

2^ ened to their voice, and did so. And it came to pass at the 
return of the year, that Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, 

27 and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. And the 
children of Israel were numbered, and were provisioned, and 
went against them. And the children of Israel encamped 
before them like two little flocks of kids ; and the Syrians 
filled the country. 

2^ And there came a man of God, and spoke to the king of 
Israel and said, thus says Jehovah : Because the Syrians 
have said that Jehovah is a god of the hills, and he is not 
a god of the valleys ; therefore will I deliver all this great 

283 



Chap. xx. I. KINGS. 



multitude into thy hand, and ye shall know that I am Jeho- 

2^ vah. And they encamped, one over against the other, seven 
days. And so it was, that on the seventh day the battle 
came on ; and the children of Israel smote of the Syrians a 

^^ hundred thousand footmen in one day. And the rest fled to 
Aphek, into the city ; and the wall fell upon twenty and 
seven thousand men that were left. And Ben-hadad fled, 
and came into the city, into an inner chamber. 

^1 And his servants said to him : Behold now, we have heard 
that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let 
us now put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our heads, 
and go out to the king of Israel ; perhaps he will let thee live. 

32 And they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on 
their heads ; and they came to the king of Israel, and said : 
Thy servant Ben-hadad says, I pray thee, let me live. And 

32 he said : Is he yet alive ? He is my brother. Now the men 
watched for some omen ; and they made haste to be assured 
whether it was from him, and they said : Thy brother Ben- 
hadad ! And he said : Come in ; bring him. And Ben-ha- 
dad came forth to him ; and he caused him to come up into 

5* the chariot. And he said to him : The cities, which my 
father took from thy father, I will restore ; and thou shalt 
make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in 
Samaria. And I [said Ahab] will with this covenant let thee 
go. And so he made a covenant with him, and let him go. 

35 And a man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow, 
by the word of Jehovah : Smite me, I pray thee. And the 

36 man refused to smite him. Then he said to him : Because 
thou hast not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, behold, 
when thou art gone from me, a lion shall slay thee. And he 
went away from him, and a hon found him, and slew him. 

3"^ And he found another man, and said : Smite me, I pray thee. 

38 And the man smote him, smiting and wounding him. So 

the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way ; 

3^ and he disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. And 

V. 33. Whether it tmsfrom him. In other words, whether it was from his heart ; whether 
he truly meant what he said, and would abide by it. 

284 



I. KINGS. Chap. xxi. 



as the king passed by, he cried to the king, and said : Thy 
servant went out into the midst of the battle ; and, behold, a 
man turned aside, and brought a man to me, and said : Keep 
this man ; if by any means he shall be missing, then shall thy 
life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. 
And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. 
And the king of Israel said to him : So shall thy judgment be ; 
thou thyself hast decided it. And he hasted, and put away 
the bandage from his eyes ; and the king of Israel discerned 

^- him that he was of the prophets. And he said to him, thus 
says Jehovah : Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a 
man devoted by me to destruction, therefore thy life shall be 

^^ for his life, and thy people for his people. And the king of 
Israel went to his house sullen and displeased, and came to 
Samaria. 



40 



41 



And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the 
Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, near by the 
palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And Ahab spoke to ^a- 
both, saying : Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for 
a garden of herbs, because it is near by my house ; and 1 
will give thee in place of it a better vineyard than that ; if 
it seems good to thee, I will give thee the price of it in 
money. And Naboth said to Ahab : Jehovah forbid it me, 
that I should give to thee the inheritance of my fathers. 
And Ahab came into his house sullen and displeased, because 
of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to 
him ; for he had said : I will not give to thee the inheritance 
of my fathers. And he lay down upon his bed, and turned 
away his face, and would eat no food. 

And Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him :• Why 
is thy spirit sullen, and thou eatest no food ? And he said to 
her : Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to 
him, give me thy vineyard for money ; or, if it please thee, 
I will give thee another vineyard in place of it ; and he an- 
swered, I will not give thee my vineyard. And Jezebel his 
wife said to him : Dost thou now administer the kino-doni 



£85 



Chap. xxi. I. KINGS. 



over Israel ? Arise, eat food, and let thy heart be merrj. I 
^ will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. And 
she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his 
seal ; and she sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles 
9 that were in his city, who dwelt with Naboth. And she 
wrote in the letters, saying : Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth 

^^ on high among the people ; and set two men, base men, be- 
fore him, and let them bear witness against him, saying : 
Thou didst renounce God and the king. And carry him out, 

^^ and stone him, that he may die. And the men of his city, 
the elders and the nobles who were dwellers in his city, did 
as Jezebel sent to them, according to what was written in 

^2 the letters which she sent to them. They proclaimed a fast, 

^^ and set Naboth on high among the people. And there came 
two men, the base men, and sat before him. And the base 
men witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence 
of the people, saying : Naboth did renounce God and the 
king. And they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned 

^* him with stones, that he died. Then they sent to Jezebel, 
saying : Naboth is stoned, and is dead. 

'^ And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was 
stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab : Arise, take 
possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which 
he refused to give thee for money. Because Naboth is not 

^^ living; for he is dead. And it came to pass, when Ahab 
heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down 
to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession 
of it. 

^"^ And the word of Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite, 

^^ saying : Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is 
in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither 

V. 10. Thou didst renounce God and the Jang. Naboth was to be accused of treason against 
the reigning king, an act by which the authority of God was also disowned. For to renounce 
the king, that is, to deny allegiance to him, was rebellion against God, whose authority was, 
in civil matters, represented by the earthly ruler. (See the writer's note on Job 1 : 5.) — Base 
men. Probably the historian's characterization of the men chosen, and such as she expected 
to be chosen, for that service. He records what was in her mind, if not in her written letter. 

V. 16. To take possession of it. To this there was no hindrance, Naboth's sons having 

b(en slain (2 Kings 9 : 26.) V. 18. Who is in Samaria. Not at that moment, see next 

clause ; but it was his capital and his residence. 

286 



I. KINGS. Chap. xxii. 



1^ he has gone down to take possession of it. And thou shalt 
speak to him, saying : Thus sa3's Jehovah : Hast thou killed, 
and also taken possession ? And thou shalt speak to him, 
and say, thus says Jehovah : In the place where dogs hcked 
the blood of Xaboth shall dogs lick thy blood, yea thine. 

20 And Ahab said to Elijah : Hast thou found me, my enemy ? 
And he answered : I have found thee ; because thou hast 

21 sold thyself to work evil in the sight of Jehovah. Behold, 
I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, 
and will cut off' from Ahab every male, bond and free, m 

22 Israel ; and I will make thy house like the house of Jero- 
boam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son 
of Ahijah ; for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked 

2" me to anger, and hast caused Israel to sin. And of Jezebel 
also spoke Jehovah, saying : The dogs shall eat Jezebel by 

2 ^ the outer-wall of Jezreel. Him that dies of Ahab in the city 
the dogs shall eat ; and him that dies in the field shall the 
fowls of the air eat. 

2^ But there was none like Ahab, who sold himself to work 
evil in the sight of Jehovah, whom Jezebel his wife stirred 

2' up. And he did many abominations in going after idols, 
according to all that the Amorites did, whom Jehovah drove 
out before the children of Israel. 

2' And it came to pass, when Ahab heard these words, that 
he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, 

2^ and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of 

2'-^ Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying : Seest thou 
how Ahab humbles himself before me ? Because he hum- 
bles himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days. 
In his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house. 

1 And they were at rest three years. There was no war 

2 between Syria and Israel. And it came to pass in the third 
year, that Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, came down to 

3 the king of Israel. And the king of Israel said to his serv- 
ants : Do ye know that Ramoth in Gilead is ours? And we 
are quiet, and do not take it out of the hand of the kmg of 

•287 



Chap. xxii. I. KINGS. 



* Syria. And he said to Jehosliaphat : Wilt thou go with me 
to battle, to Ramoth-gilead ? And Jehosliaphat said to the 
king of Israel : I am as thou art, my people as thy people, 
my horses as thy horses. 

^ And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel : Inquire, I 

^ pray thee, of the word of Jehovah to-day. Then the king 
of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred 
men, and said to them : Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to 
battle, or shall I forbear ? And they said : Gro up ; and 

"^ the Lord will give it into the hand of the king. And Je- 
hoshaphat said : Is there not here a prophet of Jehovah 

^ besides, that we may inquire of him ? And the king of 
Israel said to Jehoshaphat : There is yet one man, Micaiah 
the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of Jehovah. 
But I hate him ; for he does not prophesy good concerning 
me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said : Let not the king say 

^ so. Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said : 

^^ Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah. And the king of 
Israel, and Jehosliaphat the king of Judah, sat each on his 
throne, clothed with their robes, in the open space at the 
entrance of the gate of Samaria ; and all the prophets prophe- 

11 sied before them. And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made 
for himself horns of iron ; and he said, thus says Jehovah : 
With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou hast con- 

12 sumed them. And all the prophets prophesied so, saying : 
Gro up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper ; for Jehovah will give 

1^ it into the king's hand. And the messenger that went to call 
Micaiah spoke to him, saying : Behold now, the words of the 
prophets are favorable to the king, as with one mouth. Let 
thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and 

^^ speak that which is favorable. And Micaiah said : As Jeho- 
vah lives, what Jehovah shall say to me, that will I speak. 

1^ And he came to the king. And the king said to him : 
Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we 
forbear ? And he said to him : Go up, and prosper ; for 

1^ Jehovah will give it into the hand of the king. And the 
king said to him : How many times shall I adjure thee, that 

283 



I. KINGS. Chap. xxn. 



^■^ thou shalt tell me only truth, in the name of Jehovah ? And 
he said : I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as a flock 
that have no shepherd. And Jehovah said : These have no 
master ; let them return, every man to his house in peace. 

^^ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat : Did I not tell 
thee, that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but 

1^ evil ? And he said : Therefore hear the word of Jehovah. 
I saw Jehovah sitting on his throne, and all the host of 
heaven standing by him, on his right hand and on his left. 

2^ And Jehovah said : Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may 
go up, and fall at Ramoth-gilead ? And one said after this 

2^ manner, and another said after that manner. And the spirit 
came forth, and stood before Jehovah, and said : I will per- 

2- suade him. And Jehovah said to him : Whereby? And he 
said : I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth 
of all his prophets. And he said : Thou shalt persuade him, 

23 and shalt also prevail ; go forth, and do thus. And now, 
behold, Jehovah has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all 
these thy prophets. And Jehovah has spoken evil concerning 
thee. 

2* And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote 
Micaiah on the cheek, and said : Which way went the Spirit 

2^ of Jehovah from me to speak to thee ? And Micaiah said : 
Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into 

2^ an inner chamber to hide thyself. And the king of Israel 
said : Take Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the gov- 

" ernor of the city, and to Joash the king's son ; and say, thus 
says the king : Put this fellow in the prison-house ; and feed 

V. 21. The spirit. Namely, the one that answered to the call just made; the one who 
would persuade Ahab to do as he desired. 

VY. 20-23. This, it will be observed, was seen in vision, and is to be understood accord- 
ingly. " Visions of the invisible world," (says the Speaker's (Jommenlary) " can only be a sort 
of parables ; revelations, not of the truth as it actually is, but of so much of the truth as can 
be shown through such a medium. The details of a vision, therefore, cannot safely be pressed, 
any more than the details of a parable." Our Savior's parable of the rich man and Lazarus, 
if inteqjreted literally, would give very false ideas of the invisible world. Divested of its 
imagery, it teaches a coming retribution ; when the conditions of the prosperous wicked, and 
tlie righteous sufferer, will be reversed. The vision, after the manner of a parable, recognizes 
the fact, taught elsewhere, that there are spirits of evil, lying spirits, ever ready to serve such 
aa desire their aid, and seek it. Jehovah himself, as remarked in the last clause of v. 23, had 
warned Ahab of the coming evil. 

289 



Chap. xxn. I. KINGS. 



him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until 
2s I come in peace. And Micaiah said : If thou return at all 

in peace, Jehovah has not spoken by me. And he said : 

Hear it, the peoples, all of them. 
29 And the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat the king of 
2^ Judah, went up to Ramoth-gilead. And the king of Israel 

said to Jehoshaphat : I will disguise myself, and enter into 

the battle ; and do thou put on thy robes. And the king of 
2^ Israel disguised himself, and entered into the battle. And 

the king of Syria had commanded his thirty and two captains 

over his chariots, saying : Fight with neither small nor great, 

32 save only with the king of Israel. And it came to pass, when 
the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said : 
Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned to fight 

33 against him ; and Jehoshaphat cried out. And it came to 
pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was 
not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing 

3^ him. And a man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the 
king of Israel between the joints and the coat of mail. And 
he said to his charioteer : Turn thy hand, and carry me out 

35 of the host ; for I am wounded. And the battle increased 
that day. And the king was stayed up in his chariot against 
the Syrians ; and he died at evening. And the blood ran 

3^ out from the wound into the hollow of the chariot. And 
the joyful cry went through the host, at the going down of 
the sun, saying : Every man to his city, and every man to 
his own country. 

3^ And the king died, and was brought to Samaria ; and they 

3s buried the king in Samaria. And they washed the chariot 
by the pool of Samaria ; and the dogs licked up his blood, 
and the harlots bathed there ; according to the word of Jeho- 

39 vah, which he spoke. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and 
all that he did, and the ivory house which he built, and all 
the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of 

*^ the Chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Ahab lay down 
with his fathers ; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead. 

V^. 34. At a verdure ; that is, without knowing any reason for aiming as he did, as he knew 
not who it was at whom he aimed. 

290 



I. KINGS. Chap, xxn. 



*^ And Jehoshaphat, the son of Asa, began to reign over 

*2 Judah in the fourth year of Ahab, king of Israel. Jehosha- 
phat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign ; 
and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And 

^^ his mother's name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. And 
he walked in all the ways of Asa his father ; he turned not 
aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of 
Jehovah. Yet the high places were not taken away ; the 
people sacrificed and burned incense yet on the high places. 

It And Jehoshaphat was at peace with the king of Israel. Now 
the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he 
showed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book 

*^ of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah ? And the remnant 
of the sodomites, which were left in the days of his father 

*" Asa, he put away out of the land. There was then no king 

*^ in Edom ; a deputy was king. Jehoshaphat made ships of 
Tarshish, to go to Ophir for gold. And they went not ; for 

*® the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. Then said Ahaziah, 
the son of Ahab, to Jehoshaphat : Let my servants go with 
thy servants in the ships. And Jehoshaphat would not. 

^^ And Jehoshaphat lay down with his fathers ; and he was 
buried with his fathers in the city of David his father. And 
Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. 

^^ Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, began to reign over Israel in 
Samaria, in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of 

^2 Judah ; and he reigned two years over Israel. And he did 
evil in the sight of Jehovah, and walked in the way of his 
father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of 

^' Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. And 
he served Baal, and worshipped him ; and provoked to anger 
Jehovah God of Israel, according to all that his father had 

done. 

291 



SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. 

1 And Moab rebelled against Israel, after the death of Ahab. 

2 And Ahaziah fell down through a window-lattice in his upper 
chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick. And he sent 
messengers, and said to them : Go, inquire of Baal-zebub the 
god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness. 

3 And the angel of Jehovah said to Elijah the Tishbite : Arise, 
go up to meet the messengers of the khig of Samaria, and 
say to them : Is it because there is not a God in Israel, that 

^ ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron ? Now 
therefore thus says Jehovah : From that bed, to which thou 
hast gone up, thou shalt not come down ; for thou shalt 
surely die. And Elijah departed. 

^ And the messengers turned back to him. And he said to 

^ them : Why is this, that ye have turned back ? And they said 
to him : A man came up to meet us ; and he said to us : Go, 
turn back to the king who sent you, and say to him : Thus 
says Jehovah : Is it because there is not a God in Israel, that 
thou sendest to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron ? 
Therefore from that bed, to which thou hast gone up, thou 

■^ shalt not come dowm ; for thou shalt surely die. And he 
said to them : What manner of man was he who came up to 

^ meet you, and told you these words ? And they said to him : 
He was a hairy man, and girt with a gh^dle of leather about 

Chap. i. The history is here reBumed from the close of the first book, and is continued to 

the extinction of the national independence by the Assyrian and Babylonian conquests. 

v. 1. Moab rebelled. For the subjugation of Moab, see 2 Sam. 8 : 2. V. 2, Ahaziah, tho 

son and successor of Ahab. See 1 Kings 22 : 40, and 5\-hZ.— Baal-zebub. One of the various 
local designations of Baal, referred to in the note on Judges 2 : 11. The name means Fly- 
Baal, Lord of the fly, the fly-destroyer; so named as the protector against the plague of flies, 
the pest of hot climates.— JEArrow. A city of the Philistines, near to the royal residence lu 
Samaria. 

292 



II. KINGS. Chap. i. 



^ his loins. And he said : It is Ehjah the Tishbite. Then the 
king sent to him a captain of fifty, with his fifty. And he 
went up to him ; and, behold, he was sitting on the top of 
the mountain. And he spoke to him : Man of God, the 

^^ king has said. Come down. And Elijah answered and said to 
the captain of fifty : If I be a man of Grod, then let fire come 
down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And 
there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and 

^^ his fifty. And again he sent to him, another captain of fifty, 
with his fift}^ And he answered and said to him: Man 

^2 of God, thus has the king said : Come down quickly. And 
Elijah answered and said to them : If I be a man of God, let 
fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. 
And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed 
him and his fifty. 

^3 And again he sent a captain of fifty the third time, with 
his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came 
and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and 
said to him : Man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the 

1* life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. Be- 
hold, there came down fire from heaven, and consumed the 
two former captains of fifties, with their fifties. And now, let 

15 i^y life }yQ precious in thy sight. And the angel of Jehovah 
said to Elijah : Go down with him ; be not afraid of him. 

^^ And he arose, and went down with him to the king. And 
he said to him, thus says Jehovah : Forasmuch as thou hast 
sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, — 
is it not because there is no God in Israel, to inquire of his 
word, — therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed, 
to which thou hast gone up, for thou shalt surely die. 

^■^ And he died according to the word of Jehovah, which 
Ehjah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead, in 
the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of 

^^ Judah, because he had no son. Now the rest of the acts 

V. 11. ITe anstrered. On the use of this word, see the writer's note on Job 3 : 2, and on 
1 Sam. 9 : 17. Probably the expression of the prophet's countenance, and the fate of the other 
fifty, moved him to this response, pleading for himself the order of the king. 

293 



Chap, il II. KINGS. 



of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book 
of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel? 

^ And it came to pass, when Jehovah caused Elijah to be 
borne to heaven in a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha 

2 from Grilgal. And Elijah said to Elisha : Tarry here, I pray 
thee ; for Jehovah has sent me to Beth-el. And Elisha said : 
As Jehovah lives, and as thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. 

2 So they went down to Beth-el. And the sons of the prophets 
that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha ; and they said to 
him : Knovvest thou that Jehovah will take away thy master 
from thy head to-day ? And he said : Yea, I know it ; hold 

^ your peace. And Elijah said to him : Elisha, tarry here, I 
pray thee ; for Jehovah has sent me to Jericho. And he 
said : As Jehovah lives, and as thy soul lives, I will not 

^ leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the 
prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha ; and they said 
to him : Knowest thou that Jehovah will take away thy 
master from thy head to-day ? And he answered : Yea, I 

^ know it ; hold 3^our peace. And Elijah said to him : Tarry, 
I pray thee, here ; for Jehovah has sent me to the Jordan. 
And he said : As Jehovah lives, and as thy soul lives, I will 

"^ not leave thee. And they two went on. And fifty men of 
the sons of the prophets went, and stood over against them 

^ afar off; and they two stood by the Jordan. And Elijah 
took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the 
waters ; and they were divided hither and thither, and they 
two passed over on the dry ground. 

^ And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that 
Elijah said to Elisha : Ask what I shall do for thee, before 
I shall be taken away from thee. And Elisha said : I pray 
^^ thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he 
said : Thou hast asked a hard thing. If thou shalt see me 
when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee ; and if 
11 not, it shall not be. And it came to pass, as they still went 
on and talked, that, behold, a chariot of fire, and horses of 
fire, and they parted them both asunder ; and Elijah went 
up in a whirlwind to heaven. 

294 



n. KINGS. Chap. n. 



^'^ And Elisha saw it, and he cried : My father, my father, 
the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof! And he 
saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes, 

^^ and rent them in two pieces. He took up the mantle of 
Elijah that fell from him ; and he went back, and stood by 

^* the bank of the Jordan. And he took the mantle of Elijah 
that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said : Where 
is Jehovah, God of Elijah, yea he ? And he smote the 
waters, and they parted hither and thither ; and Elisha 

^^ passed over. And the sons of the prophets who were at 
Jericho saw him from the opposite side ; and they said : The 
spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha. And they came to meet him, 
and bowed themselves to the ground before him. 

^^ And they said to him : Behold now, there are with thy 
servants fifty strong men. Let them go, we pray thee, and 
seek thy master ; lest the Spirit of Jehovah may have taken 
him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some val- 

^^ ley. And he said : Ye shall not send. And they urged him 
till he was ashamed ; and he said : Send. And they sent fifty 

^^ men ; and they sought three days, but found him not. And 
they came back to him, for he remained at Jericho. And 
he said to them : Did I not say to you, Go not? 

1^ And the men of the city said to Elisha : Behold, I pray 
thee, the situation of the city is pleasant, as my lord sees ; 
but the water is bad, and the locality causes barrenness. 

20 And he said : Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. 

'^^ And they brought it to him. And he went forth to the 
fountain of waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, thus 
says Jehovah : I have healed these waters ; there shall be 

22 from thence no more death or barrenness. So the waters 
were healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha 
which he spoke. 

23 And he went up from thence to Beth-el. And as he was 
going up by the way, there came forth young lads out of the 
city, and mocked him, and said to him : Go up, bald head ; 

V. U. Wfiere i> Jehovah, God of Elijah ? Will Elijah's God recognize in me the successor 
of Elijah, and endued with his spirit? 

295 



Chap. m. II. KINGS. 



^^ go up, bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, 
and cursed them in the name of Jehovah. And there came 
forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tore of them forty 

25 and two boys. And he went from thence to mount Carmel j 
and from thence he returned to Samaria. 

1 Now Jehoram, the son of Ahab, began to reign over Israel 
in Samaria, in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of 

2 Judah ; and he reigned twelve years. And he did evil in 
the sight of Jehovah ; only not as his father, and as his 
mother, and he put away the image of Baal that his father 

3 had made. Yet he clave to the sins of Jeroboam the son of 
Nebat, who caused Israel to sin ; he departed not therefrom. 

^ And Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master ; and he 
rendered to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs, 

^ and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. And it came to 
pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled 
against the king of Israel. 

^ And king Jehoram went out from Samaria at that time, 

"^ and numbered all Israel. And he went, and sent to Jehosha- 
phat the king of Judah, saying : The king of Moab has 
rebelled against me. Wilt thou go with me against Moab to 
battle ? And he said : I will go up ; I am as thou art, my 

^ people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses. And he 
said : Which way shall we go up ? And he answered : The 

^ way through the wilderness of Edom. So the king of Israel 
went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom. And 
they made a circuit of seven days^ journey ; and there was 
no water for the army, and for the cattle that followed them. 

^^ And the king of Israel said : Alas, that Jehovah has called 
these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of 

^^ Moab ! And Jehoshaphat said : Is there not here a prophet 

W, 23, 24. These lads had been trained in idolatry. The mockery, with which they greeted 
the prophet of Jehovah, was not against his person, but against his divine calling ; and he 
could not let it pass unrebuked, at his approach to the chief seat of idol-worship, without 
denying, or dissembling, that sacred office. He rebuked their profane scoffs, threatening 
them with divine judgment, for that is the meaning of the words. The rage and violence 
of the two she-bears'indicates that they had been robbed of their young, and were in pursuit 
of the plunderers. 

296 



n. KINGS. Chap. m. 



of Jehovah, that we may inquire of Jehovah by him ? And 
one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said : 
Here is Ehsha the son of Shaphat, who poured water on the 

^2 hands of Ehjah. And Jehoshaphat said : The word of Jeho- 
vah is with him. So the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, 

1^ and the king of Edom, went down to him. And Elisha said 
to the king of Israel : What have I to do with thee ? Go to 
the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. 
And the king of Israel said to him : Nay ; for Jehovah has 
called these three kings together, to deliver them into the 

1^ hand of Moab, And Elisha said : As Jehovah of hosts lives, 
before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the 
presence of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I would not 

^^ look toward thee, nor see thee. And now bring me a min- 
strel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that 

^^ the hand of Jehovah was upon him. And he said, thus says 

^"^ Jehovah : Make this valley full of ditches. For thus says 
Jehovah : Ye shall not see wind, nor shall ye see rain ; and 
this valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, ye, 

^^ and your cattle, and your beasts. And this is a light thing 
in the sight of Jehovah ; he will also give the Moabites into 

^^ your hand. And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every 
choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all fount- 

2^ ains of water, and mar every good field with stones. And it 
came to pass in the morning, at the time of offering sacrifice, 
that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the 
country was filled with water. 

21 And all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to 
figlit against them ; and they were called together, of all that 
were able to put on armor and upward, and took their stand 

22 on the border. And they rose early in the morning, and the 
sun had risen upon the water ; and the Moabites saw the 

23 water from the other side, as red as blood. And they said : 
This is blood. The kings have surely fought together, and 

V. 15. He called for a minstrel, that under the influence of the soft and soothing tones of 
the instrument he might calm his feelings, agitated by the surrounding scenes, and be in a fit 
state of mind to receive the divine influence. 

297 



Chap. iv. II. KINGS. 



have smitten one another ; and now, Moab, to the spoil ! 

2* And they came to the camp of Israel ; and the Israelites 

rose up and smote the Moabites, who fled before them. And 

25 they came into it [the land] and smote Moab. And they 
destroyed the cities, and on every good field they cast every 
man his stone, and filled it ; and they stopped all the fount- 
ains of water, and felled all the good trees ; only in Kir- 
haraseth were left the stones thereof, and the slingers went 
about it, and smote it. 

26 And the king of Moab saw that the battle was too hard 
for him ; and he took with him seven hundred men that 
drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom ; and 

2"^ they could not. Then he took his eldest son, who would 
have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt-offer- 
ing upon the wall. And there was great indignation against 
Israel ; and they departed from him, and returned to their 
land. 

^ And a certain woman, of the wives of the sons of the 
prophets, cried to Elisha, saying : Thy servant my husband 
is dead ; and thou knowest that thy servant feared Jehovah ; 
and the creditor has come to take to him my two sons to be 

2 servants. And Elisha said to her : What shall I do for thee ? 
Tell me, what hast thou in the house ? And she said : Thy 
handmaid has not anything in the house, except a cruse of 

^ oil. And he said : Go, borrow for thee vessels abroad from 

^ all thy neighbors, empty vessels ; borrow not a few. And 
go in, and shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and 
pour out into all those vessels ; and thou shalt set aside that 

^ which is full. And she went from him, and shut the door 
upon her and upon her sons ; they brought the vessels to her, 

6 while she poured out. And it came to pass, when the ves- 



V. 27. Offered him for a f)urnt-offering ; to Chemosh, the abomination of Moab ( 1 Kings 
11 : 7). This horrible device of heathen superstition was to propitiate the idol god, by the 
costly sacrifice of what was most precious and most beloved. It brought great indignatidU 
upon Israel, who shared the superstition, and who were the cause of this shocking manifesta- 
tion of it V. 1. '1 he creditor has come to take my two sons. For the law on this subject, 

see Lev. 25 : 39-41. He did not claim his right under this law, till after the death of the debtor. 

298 



II. KINGS. Chap. iv. 



sels were full, that she said to her son : Bring me yet another 
vessel. And he said to her : There is not a vessel more. 

"^ And the oil stayed. Then she came and told the man of 
God. And he said : Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt ; and 
live thou and thy children on the rest. 

^ And so it was on a day, that Elisha passed over to Shunem. 
And there was a wealthy woman there ; and she constrained 
him to eat food. And so it was, that as often as he passed 

^ by, he turned aside thither to eat food. And she said to her 
husband : Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of 

^° God, who passes by us continually. Let us, I pray thee, 
make a small upper-chamber on the wall ; and let us set for 
him there a bed, and a table, and a chair, and a candlestick. 
And it shall be, when he comes to us, that he shall turn 

^^ aside thither. And so it was on a day, that he came thither ; 
and he turned aside into the upper-chamber, and lay there. 

12 And he said to Gehazi his servant : Call this Shunammite. 

1^ And he called her, and she stood before him. And he said 
to him, say now to her : Behold, thou hast been careful for 
us with all this care ; what is to be done for thee ? Is there 
anything to be said for thee to the king, or to the captain of 
the host ? And she answered : I dwell among my own 

^* people. And he said : What then is to be done for her ? 
And Gehazi answered : Yerily she has no child, and her hus- 

1^ band is old. And he said : Call her. And he called her, 

1^ and she stood in the door. And he said : At this set time, 
in the reviving season, thou shalt embrace a son. And she 
said : Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie to thy 

1^ handmaid. And the woman conceived, and bore a son, at 
that set time in the reviving season, of which Elisha spoke 
to her. 

1^ And the child grew. And so it was on a day, that he 

1^ went out to his father, to the reapers. And he said to his 

V. 10. Upper-chamf/er on the wall ; projecting like a balcony, as often in the East. V. 12, 

Before him ; before Gehazi. V. 13. He said to him ; to Gehazi. V. IG. Thi^ set time ; 

fixed in the divine purpose. — In the reviving season ; when this season revives, returns 
again. The seasons of the year are conceived as dying out a^id passing away with it, and 
as reviving again with the succeeding one. (The writer's note on Gen. 18 : 10.) 

299 



Chap. iv. II. KINGS. 



father : My head, my head ! And he said to the lad : Carry 

20 him to his mother. And he took him, and brought him to 
his mother ; and he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. 

21 And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of 

22 God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. And she 
called to her husband, and said : Send me, I pray thee, one 
of the young men, and one of the asses, that !• may run to 

23 the man of God, and come again. And he said : Wherefore 
wilt thou go to him to-day ? It is not new-moon, nor sab- 

2^ bath. And she said : It shall be well. And she saddled the 
ass, and said to her servant. Drive on, and go forward ; 

2s detain me not in riding, except I bid thee. And she went, 
and came to the man of God, to mount Carmel. And it 
came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off', that he 
said to Gehazi his servant : Behold, the Shunammite there ! 

26 Run now to meet her, and say to her : Is it well with thee ? 
Is it well with thy husband ? Is it well with the child ? And 

2"^ she answered : It is well. And she came to the man of God, 
to the mountain ; and she laid hold of his feet. And Gehazi 
came near, to thrust her away. And the man of God said : 
Let her alone ; for her soul is vexed within her ; and Jehovah 

28 has hid it from me, and has not told me. And she said : 
Have I asked a son of my lord ? Did I not say : Deceive 

2^ me not ? Then he said to Gehazi : Gird up thy loins, and 
take my staff" in thy hand, and go. If thou meetest any 
man, salute him not ; and if any man salutes thee, answer 

20 him not ; and lay my staff* on the face of the child. And the 
mother of the child said : As Jehovah lives, and as thy soul 
lives, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her. 

31 And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff on the 
face of the child ; and there was no voice, and no heed. And 
he went back to meet him, and told him, saying : The child 

32 is not awaked. And Elisha came into the house ; and be- 

33 hold, the child was dead, laid upon his bed. And he went 
in, and shut the door upon them both, and prayed to Jeho- 

3* vah. And he went up [on the bed] and lay upon the child, 
and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his 

300 



II. KINGS. Chap. iv. 



eyes, and his hands npon his hands, and bowed himself upon 

3^ him ; and the flesh of the child became warm. Then he 
returned, and walked in the house to and fro. And he went 
up, and bowed himself upon him, and the child sneezed seven 

^^ times ; and the child opened his eyes. And he called to 
Gehazi, and said : Call to this Shunammite. And he called 
to her. And she came to him, and he said : Take up thy 

^"^ son. And she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed her- 
self to the ground ; and she took up her son, and went out. 

^^ And Elisha came again to Gilgal. And the famine was in 
the land ; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before 
him. And he said to his servant : Set on the great pot, and 

^^ boil pottage for the sons of the prophets. And one went out 
hito the field to gather herbs ; and he found a wild vine, and 
gathered thereof wild gourds, his mantle full. And he came 
and shred them into the pot of pottage ; for they knew them 

*^ not. And they poured out for the men to eat. And it came 
to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried 
out, and said : man of God, there is death in the pot. 

^^ And they could not eat of it. And he said : Then bring 
meal. And he cast it into the pot. And he said : Pour out 
for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm 
in the pot. 

*2 And there came a man from Baal-shalisha. And he 

. brought to the man of God bread of the first-fruits, twenty 

loaves of barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And 

*3 he said : Give to the people, that they may eat. And his 
a**8lstant said : How should I set this before a hundred men ? 
He said again : Give to the people, that they may eat. For 
thus says Jehovah : They shall eat, and shall leave thereof. 

** And he set it before them ; and they ate, and left thereof, 
according to the word of Jehovah. 

V. 36. She rnme to him ; to Gehazi, in the outer room. On his saying to Lor, " take up thy 
BfMi," intimating his recoverj-, she went into the prophet's chamber, and fell at liia feet ; and 

Hlie took up her son. V. 38. The famine ; an foretold by Elisha. See ch. 8 . 1. V. 42. 

First-fruits. See Num. 18: 12, 13; Dent. 18: 1-4. The Levites had left Israel (2 Chron. 
11 : 13, 14); and pioua Ibraelites gave the first-fruits to Jehovah's prophets. 

301 



Chap. v. II. KINGS. 



^ Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was 
a great man with his lord, and honored ; because by him 
Jehovah had given dehverance to Syria. And the man, a 

2 mighty warrior, was leprous. And Syrians had gone out by 
bands, and had brought away captive out of the land of 

^ Israel a little maid ; and she waited on Naaman's wife. And 
she said to her mistress : that my lord were with the 
prophet who is in Samaria ! Then would he recover him 

^ from his leprosy. And he went in, and told his lord, saying : 
Thus and thus said the maid, that is from the land of Israel. 

^ And the king of Syria said : Go indeed ; and I will send a 
letter to the king of Israel. And he went. And he took 
with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand shekels of 

^ gold, and ten changes of raiment. And he brought to the 
king of Israel the letter, saying : Now when this letter is 
come to thee, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to 

"^ thee, that thou mayest recover him from his leprosy. And 
it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, 
that he rent his clothes, and said : Am I God, to kill and to 
make alive, that this man sends to me to recover a man from 
his leprosy ? For only mark, I pray you, and see how he 
seeks occasion against me. 

^ And it was so, when Elisha the man of God heard that the 
king of Israel rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, say- 
ing : Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes ? Let him come 
now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in 

^ Israel. And Naaman came, with his horses, and with his 
chariot ; and he stood at the door of the house of Elisha. 

1^ And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying : Go, and bathe 
in the Jordan seven times ; and thy flesh shall come again 

1^ to thee, and thou shalt be clean. And Naaman was wroth, 



v. 1. Given delivei'ance to SyHa. In a war of independence of which the Assyrian monu- 
ments have preserved the only account. This incidental allusion is an interesting corrobora- 
tion of the minute accuracy of the sacred record. V. 3. The prophet who is in Samana ; 

where EHsha was living (ch. 6 : 32). V. 10. Bathe. So the common version translates the 

Hebrew word in Lev. 15 : 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 18, 21, 22, 27; 16 : 26, 28; 17 : 15, 16; Num. 
19 : 7, 8, 19. 

302 



II. KINGS. Chap. v. 



and went away. And he said : Behold, I thought, he will 
surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name 
of Jehovah his God, and move his hand over the place, and 

1'^ recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of 
Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel ? May I not 
bathe in them, and be clean ? And he turned, and went 

^^ away in a rage. And his servants came near, and spoke to 
him, and said : My father, if the prophet had bid thee do 
some great thing, w.ouldest thou not have done it? How 
much more, when he says to thee: Bathe, and be clean? 

^^ Then he went down, and dipped himself seven times in the 
Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God. And 
his flesh came again, as the flesh of a little child, and he was 
clean. 

1^ And he returned to the man of God, he and all his com- 
pany ; and he came, and stood before him. And he said : 
Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but 
in Israel. And now take, I pray thee, a present from thy 

^^ servant. But he said: As Jehovah lives, before whom I 
stand, I will receive none. And he lu'ged him to take it ; 

^"^ but he refused. And Naaman said : Shall there not then, I 
pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of 
earth ? For thy servant will no more offer burnt-offering or 

^^ sacrifice to other gods, but to Jehovah. In this thing Jeho- 
vah pardon thy servant ; when my master goes into the house 
of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and 
I bow myself in the house of Rimmon ; when I bow myself 
in the house of Rimmon, Jehovah pardon thy servant in this 

'^ thing. And he said to him : Go in peace. 

20 And he had gone from him a little way. And Gehazi, the 
servant of Elisha the man of God, said : Behold, my master 
has spared Naaman, this Syrian, in not taking from his hand 

V. 17. Tico mules' burden of earth. That he might sacrifice to Jehovah on soil consecrated 

to him. V. 18. To worship there, by bowing hmiself. And I bow myself,— hodUy, not as 

an act of worship, nor with the homage of the heart. Tliia, he trusted, Jehovah would 
p rmit. He bore in his person the proof, to king and people, of Jehovah's supremacy; 
and he would acknowledge no other in his own public religious rites. He hoped to be par- 
doned for a simply official act, which to him was otherwise an unmeaning ceremony, and was 
so understood by others. 

303 



Chap. vt. II. KINGS. 



that which he brought. As Jehovah hves, I will run after 

2^ him, and take somewhat from him. And Gehazi hastened 

after Naaman. And Naaman saw one running after him, 

and he alighted from the chariot to meet him ; and he said : 

22 Is all well ? And he said : All is well. My master has sent 
me, and says : Behold, there have just now come to me, from 
mount Ephraim, two young men of the sons of the prophets ; 
give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes 

23 of raiment. And Naaman said : Let it please thee, take two 
talents. And he urged him ; and he bound two talents of 
silver in two bags, and two changes of raiment, and gave 
them to two of his servants ; and they bore them before him. 

2* And he came to the hill ; and he took them from their hand, 
and laid them up in the house. And he let the men go, and 

2^ they departed. And he came in, and stood before his master. 
And Elisha said to him : From whence, Grehazi ? And he 

2^ said : Thy servant went not any-whither. And he said to 
him : Went not my heart, when the man turned back from 
his chariot to meet thee ? Was it a time to take silver, and 
to take garments, and olive-trees, and vineyards, and sheep, 

2*^ and oxen, and men-servants, and maid-servants ? And the 
leprosy of Naaman shall cleave to thee, and to thy seed for- 
ever. And he went out from his presence leprous, white as 
snow. 

^ And the sons of the prophets said to EHsha : Behold now, 

2 the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us. Let 
us go, we pray thee, to the Jordan, and take thence every 
man a beam ; and let us there make for us a place, that we 

3 may dwell there. And he answered : Go. And one said : 
Be pleased, I pray thee, to go with thy servants. And he 

* answered : 1 will go. And he went with them. And they 

^ came to the Jordan, and cut down trees. And as one was 

felling a beam, the axe-head fell into the water. And he 

cried out, and said : Alas, master ! For it was borrowed. 

^ And the man of God said : Where fell it ? And he showed 

him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in 

304 



II. KINGS. Chap, vi. 



■^ thitlier, and made the iron swim. And he said : Raise it up 
to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it. 

^ And the king of Syria was warring against Israel. And 
he took counsel with his servants, saying : In such and such 

^ a place shall be my camp. And the man of God sent to the 
king of Israel, saying : Beware that thou pass not this place ; 

^^ for thither the Syrians are coming down. And the king of 
Israel sent to the place, of which the man of God told him 
and warned him, and protected himself there, not once nor 

^^ twice. And the heart of the king of Syria was troubled by 
this thing. And he called his servants, and said to them : 
Will ye not show me, who of them that belong to us are for 

^2 the king of Israel ? And one of his servants said : Not so, 
my lord, the king. But Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, 
tells the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy 
bed-chamber. 

^^ And he said : Go, and see where he is, that I may send 
and fetch him. And it was told him, saying : Behold, he is 

^^ in Dolhan. And he sent thither horses, and chariots, and a 
great host. And they came by night, and encompassed the 

^^ cit3\ And the servant of the man of God rose early, and 
went forth ; and. behold, a host encompassed the city, and 
horses and chariots. And his servant said to him : Alas, my 

1^ master ! How shall we do ? And he answered : Fear not ; 
for more are they that are with us than they that are with 

^•^ them. And Elisha prayed, and said : Jehovah, I pray thee, 
open his eyes, that he may see. And Jehovah opened the 
eyes of the young man ; and he saw and, behold, the hill 
was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 

^^ And they came down to him. And Elisha prayed to Jeho- 
vah, and said : Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. 
And he smote them with blindness, according to the word of 
Elisha. 

^^ And Elisha said to them : This is not the way, nor is this 

V. 18, And they came doirn to him ; from the opposite heights. V. 19. There was decep- 
tion here, justifiable in dealing with an enemy, but no falsehood. It was not his city that 
they had come to; and to that he led them, and to the man they were seeking. It was a 
clever stratagem, and turned out to the injury of no one ; only thwarting the wicked design 
of the Syrian king. 

305 



Chap. vi. II. KINGS. 



the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom 
2^ ye seek. And he led them to Samaria. And it came to pass, 
when they were come to Samaria, that Elisha said : Jehovah, 
open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And Jeho- 
vah opened their eyes, and they saw ; and, behold, they were 

21 in the midst of Samaria. And the king of Israel said to 
Elisha, when he saw them : My father, shall I smite them, 

22 smite them ? And he answered : Thou shalt not smite them. 
Thou smitest those whom thou hast taken captive with thy 
sword and with thy bow. Set bread and water before them, 

2^ that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. And 
he prepared a great feast for them. And they ate and drank, 
and he let them go, and they went to their master. And the 
bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. 

2* And it came to pass after this, that Ben-hadad king of 
Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and laid siege to 

2^ Samaria. And there was a great famine in Samaria. And, 
behold, they laid siege to it, until an ass's head was sold for 
fourscore shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of 

26 dove's dung for five shekels of silver. And the king of 
Israel was passing along upon the wall, and a woman cried 

2"^ to him, saying : Help, my lord, the king. And he said : If 
Jehovah do not help thee, whence shall I help thee ? Out 

2S of the threshing-floor, or out of the wine-press ? And the 
king said to her : What wilt thou ? And she answered : 
This woman said to me : Grive thy son, that we may eat him 

29 to-day ; and we will eat my son to-morrow. And we boiled 
my son, and did eat him. And I said to her on the next 
day : Grive thy son, that we may eat him ; and she has hid 
her son. 

30 And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the 
woman, that he rent his clothes. And he was passing along 
upon the wall ; and the people saw, and, behold, he had 

21 sackcloth within upon his flesh. And he said : Grod do so 
and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat 

22 shall stand on him this day. And Elisha was sitting in his 

V. 25. Cab. A measure, supposed to hold about two quarts. 

306 



II. KINGS. Chap, ytl 



house, and the elders were sitting with him. And the king 
sent a man from before him. Tiie messenger had not yet 
come to him ; and he said to the elders : See, how this son 
of a murderer has sent to take away my head ? Look, when 
the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold him fast at the 
door. Is not the sound of his master's feet behind him ? 
^^ He was yet talking with them, and, behold, the messenger 
came down to him. And he [the king] said : Behold, this 
evil is from Jehovah j why should I wait for Jehovah any 
longer ? 

^ And Elisha said : Hear ye the word of Jehovah. Thus 
says Jehovah : To-morrow, about this time, shall a seah of 
fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a 

2 shekel, in the gate of Samaria. And the officer, on whose 
hand the king leaned, answered the man of God, and said : 
Behold, if Jehovah should make windows in heaven, could 
this thing be ? And he said : Behold, thou shalt see it with 
thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof 

^ And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the 
gate. And they said one to another : Why sit we here until 

* we die ? If we say : We will enter into the city ; the famine 
is in the city, and we shall die there ; and if we sit here, we 
shall die. Now then, come ; and let us go over to the camp 
of the Syrians. If they let us live, we shall live ; and if they 

^ kill us, we shall but die. And they rose up in the twilight, 
to go to the camp of the Syrians. And they came to the 
outskirts of the camp of Syria, and, behold, there was no 

^ man there. For the Lord had caused the host of the Syrians 
to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, the noise 
of a gi'eat army. And the}^ said one to another : Lo ! the 
king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites, 

V 32. Tfie driers ; namely, of the city of Samaria, ch. 10 -.1,^; or, perhaps, of the whole 
land, once before assembled in a like emerj^ency, 1 Kines 20 : 7. —Hold him fast nl the door. 
Detain him tljere, till the arrival of his master; the sound of whose feet is anticipated by 

Klisha's prophetic ear. V. 33. And he [the king] said. Thiit he was present, and heard 

the prophet's answer to these words, is shown by the two following verses, and by v. 18 of 
the next cliaptcr, " as the man of God had spf)kon to the king."— Why should 1 wait for Jefu>- 

nah ? In these words there is a glimmering of hope, that Jehovah may yet interpose. V. 1. 

Seah. A measure of quantity, containing nearly three gallons. 

307 



Chap, vil II. KINGS. 



■^ and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. And they 
rose up, and fled in the twihght. And they left their tents, 
and their horses, and their asses, and the camp as it was, and 

^ fled for their hfe. And these lepers came to the outskirts of 
the camp. And they went into a tent, and ate and drank ; 
and they carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and 
went and hid it. And they came again, and entered into 

^ another tent, and carried thence, and went and hid it. And 
they said one to another : We do not well. This day is a 
day of good tidings, and we hold our peace. If we wait till 
the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now then, 

1^ come ; let us go, and tell it in the house of the king. And 
they came, and called the gate-keeper of the city. And they 
told them, saying : We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, 
behold, there was no man, nor sound of man ; but horses 

1^ tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were. And he 
called the gate-keepers ; and they told it within the king's 
house. 

^2 And the king arose in the night, and said to his servants : 
Let me tell you now what the Syrians have done to us. 
They know that we are famished ; and they go out of the 
camp to hide themselves in the field, saying : When they 
come out of the city, we shall seize them alive, and get into 

^^ the city. And one of his servants answered and said : Let 
some take, I pray thee, five of the horses left, that are left in 
it, — behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are 
left in it, behold, as all the multitude of Israel that are con- 

1* sumed, — and let us send, and see. And they took two 
chariots with horses ; and the king sent them after the host 

^^ of the Syrians, saying : Go, and see. And they went after 
them to the Jordan. And, lo ! all the way was full of gar- 
ments and vessels, which the Syrians cast away in their hasty 
flight. And the messengers returned, and told it to the king. 

^^ And the people went out, and plundered the camp of the 

Y. 13 They are as aU the multitude of Israel. They cannot fare worse, whatever they may 
snffer Ixom the enemy, than all whom they leave behind to perish of hunger, or all the multi- 
tude who have already perished. 

308 



I 



n. KINGS. Chap. vin. 



Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and 
two seahs of barley for a shekel, accordmg to the word of 
Jehovah. 

^■^ And the king appointed the officer, on whose hand he 
leaned, to have charge of the gate. And the people trode 
upon him in the gate, and he died ; as the man of Grod had 

^^ said, who spoke when the king came down to him. And it 
came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, 
saying : Two seahs of barley for a shekel, and a seah of fine 
flour for a shekel, shall be to-morrow about this time in the 

^^ gate of Samaria. And that officer answered the man of God, 
and said : Now, behold, if Jehovah should make windows in 
heaven, could such a thing be ? And he said : Behold, thou 

2^ shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. And 
so it befell him ; for the people trode upon him in the gate, 
and he died. 

^ And Elisha spoke to the woman, whose son he restored 
to life, saying : Arise and go, thou and thy household, and 
sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn. For Jehovah has 
called for a famine ; and it shall come upon the land seven 

2 years. And the woman arose, and did according to the word 
of the man of God. And she went, she and her household, 
and sojourned in the land of the PhiUstines, seven years. 

^ And it came to pass at the end of the seven years, that the 
woman returned out of the land of the Philistines ; and she 
went forth to cry unto the king, for her house and for her 

* land. And the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant 
of the man of God, saying : Tell me, I pray thee, all the 

^ great things that Elisha has done. And it came to pass, as 
he was relating to the king that he restored a dead body to 
life, that behold, the woman, whose son he restored to life, 
cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi 
said : My lord, the king, this is the woman, and this is her 

V. 1. What follows occurred before that which is related in the fifth chapter. — Whose son 

Tie restored to life. See ch. 4 : 8-^1.— A famine. See ch. 4 : 38. V. 3. For her house and 

for her laud (compare ch. 4 : 8, 18), of which some one had taken possession in her seven 
years' absence. 

309 



Chap. viii. II. KINGS. 



^ son, whom Elislia restored to life. And the king inquired 
of the woman ; and she related it to him. And the king 
granted to her an officer, saying : Restore all that was hers, 
and all the fruits of the field from the day that she left the 
land, and until now. 

■^ And Ehsha came to Damascus. And Ben-hadad, the king 
of Syria, was sick ; and it was told him, saying : The man 

^ of God is come hither. And the king said to Hazael : Take 
a present in thy hand, and go, meet the man of God ; and 
inquire of Jehovah by him, saying : Shall I recover from 

^ this disease ? And Hazael went to meet him. And he took 
a present with him, and every good thing of Damascus, forty 
camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said : 
Thy son Ben-hadad, king of Syria, has sent me to thee, say- 

^^ ing : Shall I recover from this disease ? And Elisha said to 
him : Go, say to him : Thou mayest certainly recover. But 

^^ Jehovah has showed me, that he shall surely die. And he set- 
tled his countenance steadily upon him, until he was ashamed ; 

^2 and the man of God wept. And Hazael said : Why weeps 
my lord ? And he answered : Because I know the evil that 
thou wilt do to the children of Israel. Their strong-holds 
thou wilt set on fire, and their young men thou wilt slay with 
the sword, and wilt dash in pieces their children, and rip up 

1^ their women with child. And Hazael said : What then is thy 
servant, the dog, that he should do this great thing? And 
Elisha answered : Jehovah has showed me that thou shalt be 

^* king over Syria. And he departed from Elisha, and came 
to his lord. And he said to him : What said Elisha to thee ? 
And he answered : He told me that thou shouldst surely 

V. 1 0. Thou mayest recover ; namely, from this disease ; it will not be the cause of death. 
This was true; see v. 15.— The earlier English versions (Coverdale, Matthews, Cranmer, 
Taverner, Genevan, Bishops') translate, "Thou shalt recover." The Bishops' version, follow- 
ing the Genevan, has the marginal note, "Meaning that he should not die of that disease; 
yet he should die by the hand of Hazael the messenger."— Some Hebraists now trans- late, 
"Say to him, thou shalt surely live; but [to Hazael] Jehovah has showed me, that he shall 
surely die." The message to the king is an answer to his question, " shall I recover from this 
disease"; and the message means, this illness is not unto death. That he should die by other 
means, was no answer to the question ; but it concerned Hazael, as showing him that Jehovah 
read his most secret thoughts. That the king was in the way of recovery, is evident from 

Hazael's haste to remove him. Y. 13. Thou shall be king over Syria. See 1 Kings 19 : 

15-17. 

310 



n. KINGS. Chap. vm. 



^^ recover. And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took 
the thick-woven cover, and dipped it in the water, and spread 
it on his face, so that he died. And Hazael reigned in his 
stead. 

^^ And in the fifth year of Joram, the son of Ahab king of 
Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the 

^" son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign. Thirty 
and two years old was he when he began to reign ; and he 

^^ reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the 
way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab ; for he 
had a daughter of Ahab for a wife ; and he did evil in the 

^^ sight of Jehovah. Yet Jehovah would not destroy Judah 
for the sake of David his servant ; as he said to him, that he 
would give him a light at all times in his offspring. 

2^ In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, 

21 and made a king over themselves. And Jehoram went over 
to Zair, and all the chariots with him. And he rose up by 
night, and smote the Edomites who had surrounded him, and 
the captains of the chariots ; and the people fled to their tents. 

22 And Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah to this 
2^ day. Then Libnah revolted, at the same time. And the 

rest of the acts of Jehoram, and all that he did, are they not 

written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah ? 
2* And Jehoram lay down with his fathers. And he was buried 

with his fathers in the city of David. And Ahaziah his son 

reigned in his stead. 
25 In the twelfth year of Joram, the son of Ahab king of 

Israel, did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin 
2G to reign. Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah, when he 

began to reign ; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And 

his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king 

V. 16. The most probable solution of the chronological difficulty is that of Keil : " Jehoram 
became king in the fifth year of Joram king of Israel (Jehoshaphat having while yet king made 
over to him the government) and reigned eight years, two before his father's death, and eight 
years after it." (Keil, on the passage.) V. 21. He seems to have penetrated to the inte- 
rior of Edom, and was there surrounded. In a night attack he broke through the enemy, 

and retreated to his own land. V. 26. Daughter (granddaughter) of Omri. She was a 

daughter of Ahab (v. 18); but is here called the daughter (descendant) of Omri, because he 
was the more renowned of the two. 

311 



Chap. ix. II. KINGS. 



2^ of Israel. And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, 
and did evil in the sight of Jehovah, as did the house of 
Ahab ; for he was connected by marriage with the house of 
Ahab. 

28 And he went with Joram, the son of Ahab, to the war 
against Hazael king of Syria, in Ramoth-gilead ; and the 

2^ Syrians wounded Joram. And Joram the king went back, 
to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians gave 
him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. 
And Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram king of Judah, went down 
to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick. 

1 And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the 
prophets, and said to him : Gird up thy loins, and take this 

2 vial of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead. And when 
thou comest thither, look there for Jehu the son of Jehosha- 
phat the son of Nimshi ; and go in, and have him rise up 
from among his fellows, and l(3ad him into an inner chamber ; 

^ and take the vial of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, 
thus says Jehovah : I anoint thee king over Israel. Then 
open the door and flee, and tarry not. 

^ And the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to 

^ Ramoth-gilead. And when he came, behold, the captains 
of the host were sitting. And he said : I have an errand to 
thee, Captain. And Jehu said : To which of us all ? And 

^ he said : To thee. Captain. And he arose, and went into the 
house. And he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, 
thus says Jehovah, God of Israel : I anoint thee king over 

' the people of Jehovah, over Israel. And thou shalt smite 
the house of Ahab thy lord. And I will avenge the blood 

v. 27. Compare 2 Chron. 22 : 3, 4. V. 2. Jehu. The personal character, and the extra- 
ordinary official career, of this remarkable man are well exhibited in the article Jehtj, of 
Smith's Bible Dictionary. He is first made known in history as one of the body-guard of 
Ahab, when with his comrade Bidkar (v. 25) he heard the warning of Elijah, 1 Kings 21 : 23. 
His early youth had marked him for important service in the State; and Elijah was directed 
to anoint him to be king over Israel, 1 Kings 19 : 16, which from some cause was deferred. 
In the interval he rose to great distinction in the army, and at the siege of Ramoth-gilead 
was captain of the host. His personal character is represented as a "union of intrepid 
daring, profound secrecy and dissimulation, with a stern, fanatic, wayward zeal ; an instru- 
ment for accomplishing great purposes, rather than as great or good in himself." 

312 



II. KINGS. Chap. ix. 



of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the serv- 

^ ants of Jehovah, at the hand of Jezebel. And all the house 
of Ahab shall perish ; and I will cut off from Ahab every 

® male, bond and free, in Israel. And I will make the house 
of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and 

1^ like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. And the dogs 
shall eat Jezebel in the field of Jezreel, and none shall bury 
her. And he opened the door, and fled. 

^^ And Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord. And 
one said to him : Is all well ? Wherefore came this mad fel- 
low to thee ? And he said to them : Ye know the man, and 

^" his errand. And they said : Deception ! Tell us now. And 
he said, thus and thus he spoke to me, saying : Thus says 

^^ Jehovah, I anoint thee king over Israel. Then they hasted, 
and took every man his garment, and put it under him on 
the bare steps ; and they blew with the trumpet, saying : 

^* Jehu is king. So Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat the son of 
Nimshi, conspired against Joram. — Now Joram had kept 
Ramoth-gilead, he and all Israel, against Hazael king of 

^^ Syria. But king Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of 
the wounds which the Syrians gave him, when he fought 
with Hazael king of Syria. — And Jehu said : If it be your 
mind, let no fugitive go forth out of the city, to go and tell 

^^ it in Jezreel. And Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jez- 
reel ; for Joram lay there, and Ahaziah king of Judah had 

^■^ come down to see Joram. And the watchman stood on the 
tower in Jezreel. And he spied the company of Jehu as he 
came, and said : I see a company. And Joram said : Take 
a horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say : Is it 

^^ peace? And there went one on horseback to meet him, and 
8aid, thus says the king : Is it peace ? And Jehu said : What 
hast thou to do with peace ? Turn thee behind me. And 
the watchman told, saying : The messenger came to them ; 

^^ and he comes not back. Then he sent out a second on horse- 



V. 11. Ye know tfieman, andJiis eirand : suspectinff that they had some part in it. 

v. 12. Deception ! In their turn, suHpectiriK Home secret plot, withheld from them for 
reatjoim ol' his own. The next verso shows their confidence in him as a leader. 

313 



Chap. ix. II. KINGS. 



back, who came to them, and said, thus says the king : Is it 
peace ? And Jehu answered : What hast thou to do with 

20 peace? Turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, 
saying : He came even unto them ; and he comes not back. 
And the driving is hke the driving of Jehu the son of Nim- 

21 shi ; for he drives furiously. And Joram said : Make ready. 
And his chariot was made ready. And Joram king of Israel 
and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot ; 
and they went out to meet Jehu, and they found him in the 

22 field of Naboth the Jezreelite. And it came to pass, when 
Joram saw Jehu, that he said : Is it peace, Jehu ? And he 
answered : What peace, during the harlotries of Jezebel thy 

23 mother, and her many sorceries? And Joram turned his 
hands, and fled ; and he said to Ahaziah : Treachery, Aha- 

2* ziah ! And Jehu grasped the bow with his full hand ; and 
he smote Joram between his arms, and the arrow went 

25 out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. And he 
said to Bidkar his captain : Take up, and cast him into the 
portion of the field of Kaboth the Jezreelite. For remember, 
when I and thou were riding two by two after Ahab his 

26 father, and Jehovah laid this burden upon him : — Surely I 
have yesterday seen the blood of Naboth, and the blood of 
his sons, says Jehovah ; and I will requite thee in this field, 
says Jehovah. And now take up, and cast him into the 
field, according to the word of Jehovah. 

2*^ And Ahaziah the king of Judah saw it, and he fled by 
the way of the garden-house. And Jehu followed after him, 
and said : Him also ! Smite him in the chariot at the ascent 
of Gur (which is by Ibleam). And he fled to Megiddo, and 

28 died there. And his servants carried him in a chariot to 
Jerusalem ; and they buried him in his sepulchre with his 

2^ fathers, in the city of David. — And in the eleventh year of 
Joram, the son of Ahab, began Ahaziah to reign over 
Judah. — 



V. 24. WUh his full hand. The bow (belonging to the chariot) filled his hand, showing its 
great size and strength. V. 27. At the ascent of Gur ; where his flight would be re- 
tarded. — Which IS by Ibleam ; the historian's explanation. 

314 



II. KINGS. Chap. x. 



3^ And Jehu came to Jezreel. And Jezebel heard of it ; 
and she painted her eyes, and attired her head, and looked 

^^ out at the window. And Jehu came in at the gate. And 

^2 she said: Had Zimri peace, who slew his lord? And he 
raised his face toward the window, and said : Who is on 
my side ? Who ? And there looked out to him two, three 

^^' eunuchs. And he said : Throw her down. And they threw 
her down. And some of her blood was sprinkled on the 

^^ w^all, and on the horses, and he trode her under foot. And 
he came in, and ate and drank. And he said : Go, see now 
to this cursed woman, and bury her; for she is a king's 

2^ daughter. And they went to bury her. And they found 
no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms 

^^ of the hands. And they came back, and told it to him. 
And he said : This is the word of Jehovah, which he spoke 
by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying : In the field of 

3"^ Jezreel shall the dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel. And the 
carcass of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the 
ground in the field of Jezreel ; so that they shall not say : 
This is Jezebel. 

^ And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu 
wrote letters, and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of 
Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of Ahab's children, 

2 saying : Xow when this letter comes to you, as your lord's 
sons are w^ith you, and there are with you chariots and 

^ horses, a fenced city also, and armour ; look out the best 
and fittest of the sons of your lord, and set him on the throne 

* of his father, and fight for your master's house. And they 
were exceedingly afraid. And they said : Behold, two kings 

* did not stand before him ; how then shall we stand ? And he 
that was over the house, and he that was over the city, the 
elders also, and the guardians, sent to Jehu, saying : We are 

V. 30. Painted her eyes ; around or upon the eyes, to give them more expression, still prac- 
ticed in the East, and common among the ancient Egyptians. She purposed to overawe 

the plain warrior, by her queenly aspect and demeanor. V. 31. Ziniri. 1 Kings 16 : 9-18. 

V. 32. Tiro, three eunuchs ; two at one moment, and at another three. V. 34. 8he is a 

king's daughler ; 1 Kings 16 : 31. V. 36. See 1 Kings 21 : 23. 

315 



Chap. x. II. KINGS. 



thy servants ; and all that thou shalt say to us we will do. 
We will not make any one king ; do thou that which is good 

^ in thine eyes. Then he wrote to them a second letter, say- 
ing : If ye are for me, and will hearken to my voice, take the 
heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to 
Jezreel, about this time to-morrow. Now the king's sons, 
seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who 

■^ brought them up. And so it was, when the letter came to 
them, that they took the king's sons, and slew seventy per- 
sons ; and they put their heads in baskets, and sent them to 
him to Jezreel. 

^ And the' messenger came, and told him, saying : They have 
brought the heads of the king's sons. And he said : Lay 
them in two heaps, at the entrance of the gate, until the 

^ morning. And it came to pass in the morning, that he went 
out, and stood, and said to all the people : Ye are just. 
Behold, I conspired against my lord, and slew him ; and who 

^^ has slain all these ? Know now that there shall not fall to 
the earth any part of Jehovah's word, which Jehovah has 
spoken concerning the house of Ahab. For Jehovah has 

11 done that which he spoke by his servant Elijah. And Jehu 
slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel ; and. 
all his great men, and his acquaintance, and his priests, until 
he left him none remaining. 

12 And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria. He 
1^ was at the shearing-house on the way ; and Jehu met with 

the brethren of Ahaziah, king of Judah, and he said : Who 
are ye ? And they answered : We are the brethren of Aha- 
ziah ; and we go down to salute the children of the king, 

1^ and the children of the queen. And he said : Seize them 
alive. And they seized them alive, and slew them at the pit 
by the shearing-house, two and forty men ; and he left not 
one of them. 

15 And he departed thence ; and he found Jehonadab the 

V. 15. Jehonadab the son of Rechah. He was the founder of the austere sect of the Rechab- 
ites, commemorated by Jeremiah (ch. 35 : 2-19). "As the head of a religious community, it 
was of great importance for Jehu to have him on his side, and to be accompanied by him to 

316 



II. KINGS. Chap. x. 



son of Rechab coming to meet him. And he saluted him, 
and said to him : Is thy heart sincere, as my heart is with 
thy heart ? And Jehonadab answered : It is, it is ; give me 
thy hand. And he gave him his hand, and made him come 

^^ up to him into the chariot. And he said : Go with me, and 
see my zeal for Jehovah. So they made him ride in his 

^■^ chariot. And he came to Samaria. And he slew all that 
remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, 
according to the saying of Jeliovah, which he spoke to 
Elijah. 

^^ And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to 
them : Ahab served Baal a little ; Jehu will serve him much. 

^^ And now call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, 
and all his j^riests ; let none be wanting. For I have a great 
sacrifice to make to Baal : whosoever shall be wanting, he shall 
not live. And Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he 

2^ might destroy the worshippers of Baal. And Jehu said : 
Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed 

21 it. And Jehu sent through all Israel ; and all the worship- 
pers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that 
came not. And they came into the house of Baal ; and the 

" house of Baal was full, from one end to the other. And he 
said to him who was over the wardrobe : Bring out clothing for 
all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought out raiment for 

23 them. And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, 
into the house of Baal. And he said to the worshippers 
of Baal : Search, and see that there are none here with you 
of the worshippers of Jehovah, but the worshippers of Baal 

2^ only. And they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt-oficrings. 

And Jehu had fourscore men stationed for him without. 

And he said : The man who lets one escape, of tlic men I 

bring into your hands, his life shall answer for the life of 

2^ him. And it came to pass, when he had made an end of 
offering the burnt-offering, that Jehu said to the guard and 

Samaria." (Baehr, in Lnnge's Commetdai-y.J — To meet Jam. This expression, as in Judges 
11 : 31 (see the note on the passage), does not in itself imply a purpose or intention of meet- 
ing, but only a concurrence, accidental or intended. V. 24. Atid they went in; namely, 

Baal's pries; 8. 

317 



Chap. xi. II. KINGS. 



to the captains : Go in, slay them ; let not a man go out. 
And they smote them with the edge of the sword ; and the 
guard and the captains cast them out. And they went to 

2^ the sanctuary of the house of Baal. And they brought out 

2^ the images out of the house of Baal, and burned them. And 
they broke down the image of Baal 5 and they broke down 

2^ the house of Baal, and made it a dunghill unto this day. And 

2^ Jehu cut off Baal from Israel. Bat the sins of Jeroboam the 
son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, Jehu turned not from 
following them, the golden calves that were in Beth-el, and 
that were in Dan. 

^^ And Jehovah said to Jehu : Because thou hast well exe- 
cuted that which was right in mine eyes, hast done to the 
house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, there- 
fore thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the 

^^ throne of Israel. But Jehu took not heed to walk in the 
law of Jehovah, God of Israel, with all his heart. He 
departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, who caused Israel 
to sin. 

^2 In those days Jehovah began to cut off parts of Israel. 

2^ And Hazael smote them in all the borders of Israel ; from 
the Jordan toward the sun-rising, all the land of Gilead, the 
Gadites, and the Beubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer 
which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan. 

2* Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and 
all his might, are they not written in the book of the Chroni- 

2^ cles of the kings of Israel ? And Jehu lay down with his 
fathers ; and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz 

^^ his son reigned in his stead. And the time that Jehu reigned 
over Israel was twenty and eight years, in Samaria. 

^ And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her 
son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. 

2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Aha- 
ziah, took Jehoash tlie son of Ahaziah, and stole him from 

V. 25. Sanctuary; the temple proper, containing tlie images of the idol-gods, in distinc- 
tion from the outer courts, together constituting the house of Baal. 

318 



II. KINGS. Chap. xi. 



among the king's sons who were slain, and put him and his 
nurse in the store-room ; and they hid him from Athahah, 

^ so that he was not slain. And he was with her hid in the 
house of Jehovah six years. And Athaliah reigned over 
the land. 

^ And in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the 
rulers over centurions of the executioners and the guard, 
and brought them to him into the house of Jehovah. And 
he made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in 
the house of Jehovah, and showed them the king's son. 

^ And he commanded them, saying : This is the thing that ye 
shall do. A third part of those of you that enter in on the 
sabbath shall be keepers of the watch of the king's house ; 

^ and a third part shall be at the gate Sur ; and a third part 
at the gate behind the guard. And ye shall keep the watch 

'* of the house, to ward off. And two divisions of all you that 
go forth on the sabbath, they shall keep the watch of the 

^ house of Jehovah about the king. And ye shall compass 
the king round about, every man with his weapons in his 
hand ; and he that comes within the ranks, let him be slain ; 
and be ye with the king as he goes out and as he comes in. 

^ And the centurions did according to all that Jehoiada the 

priest commanded. And they took each his men that were 

to come in on the sabbath, w^ith them that should go out on 

^^ the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. And to the 

centurions the priest gave king David's spears and shields, 

'^ that were in the temple of Jehovah. And the guard stood, 

every man with his weapons in his hand, from tlie right wing 

of the house unto the left wing of the house, to the altar and 

^^ to the temple, round about the khig. And he brought out 

the king's son, and put upon him the crown and the testi- 

VV. 5-8, "Jehniada's plan w-jh to take military possession of the tw.) places, which wero of 
prime importance, the palace and the temple. In th3 latter was the youni? prince, who was 
then to be crowned and anointed; in the former wai the throne, of which ho was to take 
pOBsession. Vers. 5 and 6 treat of takin'? possession of the palace ; ver.-i. 7 and 8 of that of 

the temple." (Baehr in Lange's Commenlary.) V. 11. Two lines of soldiers, owe from 

each wing of the palace, extended across the court to the altar and to the temple, there sur- 

ronnding the kind's Hon as he was bronpht out (v. 12). V. 12. The iestimony. Probably a 

copy of the law or portion of it, kept in the ark of the covenant ; Ex. 25 : 21 ; Deut. 81 : 26. 

319 



Chap. xn. II. KINGS. 



mony. And they made him king, and anointed him ; and 
they clapped their hands, and said : Long hve the king. 

^^ And Athahah heard the noise of the guard and of the 
people ; and she came to the people, into the house of Jeho- 

^* vah. And she looked, and, behold, the king stood on the 
platform, as was the custom, and the captains and the trump- 
eters by the king ; and all the people of the land were re- 
joicing, and blowing with trumpets. And Athaliah rent her 

^^ clothes, and cried : Treason, treason. And Jehoiada the 
priest commanded the centurions, the officers of the host, 
and said to them : Bring her out between the ranks ; and 
him that follows her kill with the sword. For the priest 

1^ said : Let her not be slain in the house of Jehovah. And 
they made way for her on either hand ; and she went by 
the way of the horses' entrance into the king's house. And 
there she was slain. 

1"^ And Jehoiada made the covenant between Jehovah and 
the king and the people, that they should be Jehovah's 

^^ people ; and between the king and the people. And all the 
people of the land went into the house of Baal, and tore it 
down ; his altars and his images they broke in pieces wholly ; 
and they slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. 
And the priest placed a watch over the house of Jehovah. 

1^ And he took the centurions, and the executioners, and the 
guard, and all the people of the land ; and they brought 
down the king from the house of Jehovah, and came by the 
way of the gate of the guard to the king's house. And he 

2^ sat on the throne of the kings. And all the people of the 
land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. And Athaliah, they 
had slain with the sword, at the king's house. 

21 Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign. 



1 In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash began to reign ; 
and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. And his 

2 mother's name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. And Jehoash 
did that which was right in the sight of Jehovah, all his 

V. 14. The platform ; 2 Chron. 6 : 13.— The custom; when a new king was inaugurated. 

320 



II. KINGS. Chap. xu. 



^ days during which Jehoiada the priest instructed him. But 
the high phices were not taken awa}^ The people still sacri- 
ficed, and burned incense, in the high places. 

^ And Jehoash said to the priests : All the money from 
things dedicated that is brought into the house of Jehovah, the 
money of every one numbered, the money at which any one 
is estimated, and all the money that it comes into any man's 

^ heart to bring into the house of Jehovah, let the priests take 
it to them, every man from his acquaintance ; and let them 
repair any breach in the house, wheresoever a breach shall 

^ be found. And it was so, that in the three and twentieth 
year of king Jehoash, the priests had not repaired the 

■^ breaches of the house. Then king Jehoash called for Je- 
hoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said to them : 
Why do ye not repair the breaches of the house ? And 
now ye shall take no money from your acquaintance, but 

^ ye shall give it for the " breaches of the house. And the 
priests consented not to receive money from the people, nor 

^ to repair the breaches of the house. And Jehoiada the 
priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid thereof, and 
set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the 
house of Jehovah. And the priests that guarded the thresh- 
old put therein all the money that was brought into the house 

^^ of Jehovah. And it was so, when they saw that there was 
much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the high- 
priest came up, and they bound together, and counted, the 

^^ money that was found in the house of Jehovah. And they 
gave the money, weighed, into the hands of them that did 
tlie work, that had the oversight of the house of Jehovah ; 
and they brought it out to the carpenters and builders, that 

^2 wrought upon the house of Jehovah ; and to masons, and 
hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewn stone to 
repair the breaches of the house of Jehovah, and for all that 

^^ was laid out for the house to repair it. But there were not 

v. 3. High places. See the note on 1 Einjjg 11 : 7. V. 4. The money of every one num^ 

hpred. The yearly half-shekel required of every one numbered among the people, Ex. 30 • 
12-H.— Is estimaled ; in fulfillment of a vow. See Lev. 27 : 2-8. 

321 



Chap. xm. 11. KINGS. 



made for the house of Jehovah bowls of silver, snuffers, 
basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, 
from the money that was brought into the house of Jehovah ; 

^* but they gave it to the workmen, and repaired therewith the 

^^ house of Jehovah. And they reckoned not with the men, 
into whose hand they gave the money to give it to the work- 

1^ men ; for they dealt faithfully. Money for trespass-offering, 
and money for sin-offering, were not brought into the house 
of Jehovah ; they belonged to the priests. 

1"^ Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against 
Gath, and took it. And Hazael set his face to go up against 

IS Jerusalem. And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hal- 
lowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, 
his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hal- 
lowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures 
of the house of Jehovah, and in the king's house, and sent 
them to Hazael king of Syria. And he went away from 
Jerusalem. 

^^ And the rest of the acts of Jehoash, and all that he did, are 
they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings 

2^ of Judah ? And his servants rose up and made a conspir- 
acy ; and they slew Jehoash in the house of Millo, which goes 

21 down to Silla. For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Je- 
hozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he 
died. And they buried him with his fathers, in the city of 
David ; and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead. 

1 In the three and twentieth year of Jehoash, the son of 
Ahaziah king of Judah, began Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, 
to reign over Israel in Samaria ; and he reigned seventeen 

2 years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jeho- 
vah, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, 
who caused Israel to sin. He departed not therefrom. 

3 And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel. 
And he gave them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, 



V. 19. See 2 Chron. 24 : 19-26. 

322 



II. KINGS. Chap. xnr. 



and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael, continu- 

* ally. And Jehoahaz besought Jehovah; — and Jehovah 

hearkened unto him, for he saw the oppression of Israel, 

^ how the king of Syria oppressed them ; and Jehovah gave 

Israel a deliverer, so that they went out from under the hand 

of the Syrians, and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents, 

^ as beforetime ; yet they departed not from the sins of the 

house of Jeroboam, who caused Israel to sin, but walked 

^ therein ; and the Ashera also remained in Samaria : — for he 

left of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten 

chariots, and ten thousand footmen ; for the king of Syria had 

destroyed them, and had made them as the dust in threshing. 

^ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, 
and his might, are they not written in the book of the Chroni- 

^ cles of the kings of Israel? And Jehoahaz lay down with 
his fathers ; and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoash 
his son reigned in his stead. 

^° In the thirty and seventh year of Jehoash king of Judah, 
began Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, to reign over Israel in 

^^ Samaria ; and he reigned sixteen years. And he did that 
which was evil in the sight of Jehovah. He departed not 
from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused 

^2 Israel to sin ; he walked therein. And the rest of the acts 
of Jehoash, and all that he did, and his might wherewith he 
fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written 

^^ in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel ? And 
Jehoash lay down with his fathers ; and Jeroboam sat upon 
his throne. And Jehoash was buried in Samaria, with the 
kings of Israel. 

^* Now Elisha was sick, with his sickness of which he died. 
And Jehoash the king of Israel came down to him, and 
wept upon his face, and said : my father, my father ; the 



V. 3. VonlinuaUy ; namely, during the whole reign of Jehoahaz. See v. 22. V.5. Qave 

Israel a delinerei- ; namely, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz (see v. 25), and afterward Jeroboam 

the son of Jehoash (14 : 2.5-27). V. 6. Ashera ; statue of a female idol of that name, the 

go<lde88 of concupiscence. See the note on Judges 3 : 7. V. 7 stan'ls in connection with 

the first clause of v. 4; the intervening words arc parenthetical, stating the effect of the 
intercession, which is fully shown in the passages referred to above. — For hey J chovah. 

323 



Chap. xin. II. KINGS. 



1^ chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof! And Ehsha 
said to him : Take a bow and arrows. And he took to him- 

1^ self a bow and arrows. And he said to the king of Israel : 
Put thy hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it, 

^■^ and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands. And he 
said : Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then 
Elisha said : Shoot. And he shot. And he said : An arrow 
of deliverance from Jehovah, and an arrow of deliverance 
against Syria ; for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, 

1^ even to consuming them. And he said : Take the arrows. 
And he took them. And he said to the king of Israel : Smite 

^^ the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. And the 
man of God was wroth with him, and said : Thou shouldst 
have smitten five or six times ; then wouldst thou have 
smitten Syria, even to consuming ; and now thou shalt smite 
Syria thrice. 

20 And Elisha died, and they buried him. And bands of the 

2^ Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the 3^ear. And 
it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, 
they saw the band, and they cast the man into the sepulchre 
of Elisha. And the man came and touched the bones of 
Elisha, and he revived, and stood up on his feet. 

22 And Hazael, king of Syria, oppressed Israel all the days 

23 of Jehoahaz. And Jehovah was gracious to them, and had 
compassion on them, and had respect to them, because of his 
covenant w^ith Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; and he would 
not destroy them, and he cast them not from his presence 

^* as yet. And Hazael king of Syria died ; and Ben-hadad his 



v. 16. Put his hands upon the king's hands; "indicating by this symbolical act that the 
successes, typified by the shooting, were not to come from human skill, or strength, or daring, 

but from the presence and power of God."— (Speaker's Commentary.) V. 18. Smile the 

ground. Direct the arrow downward, to the ground. V. 19. Thou shaU smite Syria thrice. 

See the fulfillment in v. 25. 

v. 21. The miracle wrought by contact with the prophet's bones. Compare the miracles 
of healing wrought by the touch of handkerchiefs, and aprons, from the person of the Apostle 
Paul, Acts 19: 11,12. "All miraculous working," says Dean Alford, "is an exertion of the 
direct power of the All-powerful; a suspension by him of his ordinary laws; and whether he 
will use any instrument, or what instrument, must depend altogether on his purpose in the 
miracle— the effect to be produced on the recipients, beholders, or hearers." ( Oreek Ttstament, 
Vol. II. p. 196. ) In this case, there was a fitting occasion for miraculous agency, to perpetuate 
the influence of Elisha's teaching and example. 

324 



11. KINGS. Chap. xiv. 



2^ son reigned in his stead. And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz 
took again, out of the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael, 
the cities which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz 
his father in war. Three times did Jehoash beat him, and 
he recovered the cities of Israel. 

^ In the second year of Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz king of 
Israel, reigned Amaziah, the son of Jehoash king of Judah. 

2 He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign ; 
and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And 

^ his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. And he 
did that which was right in the sight of Jehovah ; but not 
as David his father. He did, in all things, as Jehoash his 

* father had done. But the high places were not taken away ; 
the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high 
places. 

^ And it came to pass, when the kingdom was confirmed in 
hii hand, that he slew his servants who had slain the king 

^ his father. And the children of the murderers he did not 
put to death ; according to that which is written in the book 
of the law of Moses, which Jehovah commanded, saying : 
The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor 
the children be put to death for the fathers ; but every man 

■^ shall die for his own sin. He slew of Edom in the valley of 
salt ten thousand ; and he took Selah in war, and called the 
name of it Joktheel, unto this day. 

^ Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of 
Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying : Come, let us 

^ look one another in the face. And Jehoash the kmg of 
Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying : The thorn- 
bush that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Leba- 
non, saying : Give thy daughter to my son for a wife ; and 
there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode 

v. 6. WriUen in the hook of the law of Monen, See the law in Deut. 24 : 16.— The case 
recorded in Josh. 7 : 19-2G is a special one. It is highly improbable (aa shown by Keil on the 
passage) that tlie articles, taken in violation of a direct Divine command, were hidden under 
the earth in the midst of the tent, without the knowledge and connivance of members of the 
family. The circumstauccb of the time required the strictest enforccmeut of the Diviuo ■will. 

325 



Chap. xiv. II. KINGS. 



^^ down the thorn-bush. Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and 
thy heart has hfted thee up. Take the honor, and remain at 
home. For why shouldst thou provoke evil, that thou may est 

1^ fall, thou and Judah with thee ? But Amaziah would not 
hear. And Jehoash king of Israel went up ; and he, and 
Amaziah king of Judah, looked one another in the face at 

^2 Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. And Judah was 
beaten before Israel ; and they fled, every man, to their tents. 

12 And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, 
the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, captive at Beth-she- 
mesh, and came to Jerusalem. And he broke down the 
wall of Jerusalem, from the gate of Ephraim to the corner 

1* gate, four hundred cubits. And he took all the gold and 
silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of 
Jehovah, and in the treasures of the king's house, and 
hostages, and returned to Samaria. 

1^ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and 
his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, 
are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the 

1^ kings of Israel ? And Jehoash lay down with his fathers ; 
and he was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. 
And Jeroboam his son reigned in his stead. 

1"^ And Amaziah the son of Jehoash, king of Judah, lived 
after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, 

1^ fifteen years. And the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they 
not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of 

1^ Judah ? And they made a conspiracy against htm in Jeru- 
salem ; and he fled to Lachish. And they sent after him to 

'■^^ Lachish, and slew him there. And they brought him on the 
horses ; and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers, in 
the city of David. 

21 And all the people of Judah took Azariah, — and he was 
sixteen years old, — and made him king instead of his father 

22 Amaziah. He built Elath, and restored it to Judah, after 
that the king lay down with his fathers.,- 

v. 20. Brought him on Vie horses ; his royal chariot and steeds, used ia his flight ; a mark 
of respect to his rank. 

326 



II. KINGS. Chap. xv. 



23 111 the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Jehoash, kmg 
of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Jehoash, king of Israel, be- 
gan to reign in Samaria ; and he reigned forty and one years. 

2* And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah. He 
departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, 

2^ who caused Israel to sin. He restored the border of Israel 
from the entering in of Hamath unto the sea of the plain • 
according to the word of Jehovah, God of Israel^ which he 
spoke by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, 

26 the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher. For Jehovah saw 
the affliction of Israel, bitter exceedingly ; none left of bond 

2^ or free, nor any helper for Israel. And Jehovah had not 
said that he would blot out the name of Israel from under 
heaven ; and he delivered them, by the hand of Jeroboam 
the son of Jehoash. 

28 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, 
and his might ; how he warred, and how he recovered 
Damascus, and Hamath, which belonged to Judah, for Israel ; 
are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the 

29 kings of Israel ? And Jeroboam lay down with his fathers, 
with the kings of Israel ; and Zachariah his son reigned in 
his stead. 

^ In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam, king of 
Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah, king of Judah, began to 

2 reign. Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign ; 
and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem. And his 

3 mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. And he did 
that which was right in the sight of Jehovah, according to 

* all that his father Amaziah had done ; except that the high 
places were not removed ; the people sacrificed and burned 
incense still on the high places. 

^ And Jehovah smote the king, and he was leprous to the 

V 25. The entering in of Hamath ; the extreme northern boundary of the kingdom, in its 
widest extent under Solomon, 1 Kings 8 : G5.~The plain. Sec the writer's description of this 
wonderful chasm, in his revised version of (JenosiH, pages 79, 80. — Sea of the //lain ; so iian)« d 
in Deut. 3 : 17 — Jonah, the Don of AniiUai. See the lutroductiuu to the Book of the rrophct 
Jonah. 

327 



Chap. xv. II. KINGS. 



day of his death, and dwelt in a separate house. And 

Jotham the king's son was over the house, judging the people 

^ of the land. And the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all 

that he did, are they not written in the book of the Chroni- 

■^ cles of the kings of Judah ? And Azariah lay down with 

his fathers ; and they buried him with his fathers in the city 

of David. And Jotham his son reigned in his stead. 

^ In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, did 

Zachariah, the son of Jeroboam, reign over Israel in Samaria 

^ six months. And he did that which was evil in the sight of 

Jehovah, as his fathers had done. He departed not from the 

sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. 

^^ And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and 
smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in 

^1 his stead. And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, behold, 
they are written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings 

12 of Israel. This was the word of Jehovah, which he spoke to 
Jehu, saying : Thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto 
the fourth generation. And so it came to pass. 

1^ Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign, in the nine and 
thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah ] and he reigned a 

1^ full month in Samaria. And Menahem the son of Gadi went 
up from Tirzah, and came to Samaria ; and he smote Shallum 
the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in 

^^ his stead. And the rest of the acts of Shallum, and his con- 
spiracy which he made, behold, they are written in the book 
of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel. 

1^ Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, 
and the borders thereof from Tirzah ; because they opened 
not to him, therefore he smote it ; all the women therein 

1^ that were with child he ripped up. In the nine and thirtieth 
year of Azariah, king of Judah, began Menahem the son of 
Gadi to reign over Israel ; and he reigned ten years in Sama- 

^^ ria. And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah. 

v. 5. For a more full account of the reign of Uzziah, and the oflFense for which he was pun- 
ished with leprosy, ^ee 2 Chron. eh. xxvi. — Dwelt in a separate house. Compare the require- 
ment of the Mosaic law in such cases, Lev. 13 : i6. V. 1»2. This was the word of Jehovah, 

which he spoke to Jehu. See ch. 10 : 30. 

328 



II. KINGS. Chap. xv. 



He departed not, all his days, from the sins of Jeroboam the 

^^ sou of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. Pul, the king of 

Assyria, came against the land. And Menahem gave to Pul 

a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him, 

20 to confirm the kingdom in his hand. And Menahem exacted 
the money from Israel, from all the mighty men in wealth, 
from each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of 
Assyria. And the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed 
not there in the land. 

21 And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, 
are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the 

22 kings of Israel ? And Menahem lay down with his fathers ; 
and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead. 

23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah. the king of Judah, Pekahiah 
the sou of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria ; 

2* and he reigned two years. And he did that which was evil 
in the sight of Jehovah. He departed not from the sins of 

25 Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. And 
Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired against him, 
and he smote him in Samaria in the citadel of the king's house 
with Argob and Arieh. And with him were fifty men of the 

2^ Gilcadites ; and he killed him, and reigned in his stead. And 
the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold, 
they are written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings 
of Israel. 

2'^ In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah, king of Judah, 
Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in 

28 Samaria ; and he reigned twenty years. And he did that 
which was evil in the sight of Jehovah. He departed not 
from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused 

23 Israel to sin. In the days of Pekah, king of Israel, came 
Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. And he took Ijon, and 



v. 19. Pul, the king of Assyria, came against the land. This is the first-named Assyrian 
invasion of the country ; though it is not certain that it was by the Assyria proper, referred 
to in V. 2G, and in the following chapters. The name Pul is not yet ideutilicd on the monu- 
ments of the great Assyrian monarchy. 

V. 29. " Tiglath-pileser stands among the Assyrian monarchs of Scripture where Shishak 
does among the Egyptian ones— he is the first whom we can certainly identify with a known 
monumental king. The Assyrian Canon gives us Tiglat-pal-zira as reigning from B. C. 745 to 

329 



Chap. xvi. H. KINGS. 



Abel-beth-maachali, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, 

and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried 
^^ them captive to Assyria. And Hoshea, the son of Elah, 

made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah ; and 

he smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the 
2^ twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. And the rest 

of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, behold, they are 

written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel. 
2^ In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of 

Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, began to 
^^ reign. Five and twenty years old was he when he began to 

reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his 
2^ mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. And 

he did that which was right in the sight of Jehovah. He did 
^^ according to all that his father Uzziah had done. But the 

high places were not removed. The people still sacrificed 

and burned incense on the high places. He built the upper 

gate of the house of Jehovah. 
^^ Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, 

are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the 
2" kings of Judah? In those days Jehovah began to send 

against Judah, Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son 
^^ of Remaliah. And Jotham lay down with his fathers. And 

he was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father ; 

and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead. 

^ In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, 
Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. 

2 Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and he 
reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not that 
which was right in the sight of Jehovah his God, like David 

^ his father. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel ; 

B. C. 727." (Speaker's (Jommentary.)—R\^ conquests are recounted by Mr. Smith, in bis 
Ancient History from the Monuments (Assyria, pp. 77-94). In bis war with Azariah (Uzziah) 
king of Judah (p. 82), he conquered Calno, referred to in Is. 10 : 9 (see the writer's notes on 
vers. 9-15). The policy of transporting captives of the conquered countries (v. 29 ; 17 : 6), is 

referred to on pp. 83, 88, and 9i. V. 30. Uzziah ; an abbreviated form of Azariah, vers. 

1, 7, etc. 

330 



n. KINGS. Chap. xvi. 



yea, and he made his son pass through the fire, according to 
the abominations of the heathen, whom Jehovah drove out 

* from before the children of Israel. And he sacrificed, and 
burned incense, in the high places, and on the hills, and 
under ever}- green tree. 

^ Then Rezin king of Syria, and Pekah son of Remaliah 
king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war. And they laid 

^ siege to Ahaz, but were unable to wage war. — At that time 
Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drove out 
the Jews from Elath ; and the Syrians came to Elath, and 

■^ they dwell there to this day. — And Ahaz sent messengers to 
Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, saying : I am thy servant 
and thy son. Come up, and deliver me from the hand of 
the king of Syria, and from the hand of the king of Israel, 

^ who have risen up against me. And Ahaz took the silver 
and the gold that were found in the house of Jehovah, and 
in the treasures of the king's house, and sent a present to 

^ the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria hearkened to 
him. And the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, 
and took it. And he carried the people captive to Kir ; and 
Rezin he slew. 
^° And king Ahaz went to Damascus, to meet Tiglath-pileser 
king of Assyria. And he saw the altar that was at Damas- 
cus. And king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of 
the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the work- 
^^ manship thereof. And Urijah the priest built the altar, 
according to all that king Ahaz sent from Damascus ; so 
Urijah the priest made it, against the coming of king Ahaz 
^- from Damascus. And the king came from Damascus. And 
the king saw the altar ; and the king approached the altar, 
^^ and offered thereon. And he burned his burnt-offering and 
his meat-offer hi g, and poured out his drink-offering, and 
sprinkled the blood of his peace-offerings, upon the altar. 

V. 5. Unable to icnge war ; from some unlooked for hindrance. Though the arrangements 
for the siege were complete, they were unable to carry on the war. See the writer's note on 
Is. 7 : 1 V. 10. The altar that was at Dnmasc-us. Compare 2 Chron. 28 : 23, "he sac- 
rificed to the gods of Damascus." Less probably it may have been the Assyrian altar, which 
all subject provinces were required to use. Two forms of it are represeuted iu Smith's Lible 
Uiciionary, article AUar. 

331 



Chap. xvn. II. KINGS. 



1^ And he brought the brazen altar, which was before Jehovah, 
from the forefront of the house, from between the [new] 
altar and the house of Jehovah, and put it on the north side 

^^ of the altar. And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, 
saying : Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt-offer- 
ing, and the evening meat-offering, and the king's burnt- 
offering, and his meat-offering, and the burnt-offering of all 
the people of the land, and their meat-offering, and their 
drink-offerings ; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the 
burnt-offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice. And the 

1^ brazen altar shall be for me to consider. Thus did Urijah 
the priest, according to all that king Ahaz commanded. 

1^ And king Ahaz cut off the panels of the bases, and 
removed the laver from upon them. And he took down the 
sea from the brazen oxen that were under it, and put it upon 

^^ a pavement of stones. And the covered-way for the sabbath 
which they built in the house, and the king's outer entrance, 
he removed into the house of Jehovah, for fear of the king 
of Assyria. 

^^ Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they 
not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of 

^^ Judah ? And Ahaz lay down with his fathers ; and he was 
buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Hezekiah 
his son reio-ned in his stead. 



In the twelfth year of Ahaz, king of Judah, began Hoshea 
the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years. 



V. 15. The great aUar ; the one fashioned after that seen at Damascus. This, by the 
kinf:j'3 directions, was to take the place of the one built by Solomon, for all the offerings 
required under the Mosaic law. See Ex. 29 : 38-42 ; Num. 28 : 3-31 ; 29 : 2-39. —For me to 

consider ; to consider further, what use shall be made of it. V. 17. Panels if the bases: 

of the bases that supported the ten lavers. See 1 Kings 7 : 27-39. V. 17. Took donm. 

the sea from the brazen oxen. See the description in 1 Kings 7 : 23-26 V. 18. Vovered- 

way. Or perhaps, canopied seat; namely, for the royal family in their attendance on the 
Sabbath service.— For fear of the king of Assyria ; of exciting his cupidity, or that of his 
officials. V. 19. Chronicles of the kings of Judah. See also Isaiah, chs. vii-xii., prophe- 
cies in the reign of Ahaz, and the writer's notes on them. 

Ch. xvii. The record of Israel's nationality here comes to an end, Founded and perpetu- 
ated in idolatry, and every resource of moral influence and punitive restraint having failed; 
the time had now come for a vindication of the divine government, and an example to coming 
ases,—Shalmaneser, according to the Assyrian monuments, reigned from B. C. 727-722. 

332 



II. KINGS. Chap. xvii. 



2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, but 
not as the kings of Israel that were before him. 

^ Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria ; and 

* Hoshea became his servant, and paid him tribute. And the 
king of Assyria discovered conspiracy in Hoshea, who sent 
messengers to So king of Egypt, and brought no tribute to 
the king of Assyria, as before year by year. And the king 
of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison. 

^ And the king of Assyria came up through all the land ; 
and he went up to Samaria, and laid siege to it three years. 

^ In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Sama- 
ria. And he carried Israel away captive into Assyria, and 
placed them in Halah, and on the Habor the river of Gozan, 
and in the cities of the Medes. 

"* For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against 
Jehovah their God, who brought them up out of the land of 
Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and 

^ feared other gods ; and they walked in the customs of the 
heathen, whom Jehovah drove out from before the children 

^ of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they made. And 

the children of Israel did covertly things that were not right 

against Jehovah, their God. And they built for themselves 

high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watch- 

^^ men to the fenced city. And they set up for themselves 

images and Asheras on every high hill, and under every 

^^ green tree ; and there they burned incense on all the high 

places, as did the heathen whom Jehovah drove away before 

them. And they wrought evil deeds, to provoke Jehovah 

^2 to anger, and served the idols, whereof Jehovah said to 

1^ them : Ye shall not do this thing. And Jehovah testified 

against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and 

by all the seers, saying : Turn ye from your evil ways, and 

V. 4. So (or as the Hebrew name may bo pronounced, Seve) is thought to have been Shehek 

(the Sahaco of Herodotus), of the twenty-fifth dynasty, about 728 B. C. V. G. The king of 

Assyria took Samaria. According to the records on the Assyrian monuments, this king was 
Sargon ; who succeeded Shalmaneser in B. C. 722, and completed the siege begun by his 

predecessor. W. 7-23. Summary of the grounds for the final rejection of Israel, and 

removal from their land. V. 9. Did covertly ; under cover of worshipping the true God, 

and calling it Juhovah-worahip, Y. 10. Asheras. See the note on 13 : G. 

333 



Chap. xvii. U. KINGS. 



keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the 
law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to 

^^ you by my servants the prophets. And they hearkened not, 
and hardened their neck like the neck of their fathers, who 

^^ believed not in Jehovah their Grod. And they despised his 
statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, 
and his testimonies wherewith he testified against them ; and 
they followed vanity and acted vainly, and went after the 
heathen that were round about them, concerning whom 

1^ Jehovah commanded them, not to do like them. And they 
forsook all the commandments of Jehovah their God ; and 
they made for themselves molten images, the two calves ; 
and they made an Ashera, and they worshipped all the host 

^"^ of heaven, and served Baal. And they caused their sons 
and their daughters to pass through the fire. And they used 
divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil 

^^ in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger. And 
Jehovah was very angry with Israel. And he removed them 
away from his presence. There was none left but the tribe 

1^ of Judah only. — Also Judah kept not the commandments 
of Jehovah their Grod, but walked in the statutes of Israel 

2^ which they made. — And Jehovah rejected all the seed of 
Israel, and afflicted them, and gave them into the hand of 

2^ spoilers, until he had cast them out before him. For he rent 
Israel from the house of David ; and they made Jeroboam 
the son of Nebat king ; and Jeroboam withdrew Israel from 

22 following Jehovah, and caused them to sin a great sin. And 
the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam 

23 which he did ; they departed not from them, until Jehovah 
removed Israel from his presence, as he had said by all his 
servants the prophets. And Israel was carried away captive, 
out of their own land to Assyria, unto this day. 

V. 13. By my servants the prophets. Besides the numerous prophets and seers, mentioned 
by name in the books of Kings and Chronicles, were the prophets Hosea, Amos, Joel, Micah, 

Isaiah, whose remonstrances and warnings are on record. V. 15. Vanity. Properly, a 

breath ; as imsubstantial and as impotent, a term of contempt for idols. See references in 

the note on 1 Kings 16 : 13.— Acted vainly; acted in that vain trust. V. 16. An Ashera ; 

a statue of the goddess of concupiscence (13 : 15), erected by Ahab, and of such national 
interest as to require the special notice of the historian, 1 Kings 16 : 33. 

334 



II. KINGS. Chap. xvii. 



2^ And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and 
from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from 
Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria in 
place of the children of Israel. And they took possession 

25 of Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. And so it was, 
at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not 
Jehovah ; and Jehovah sent lions among them, which slew 

26 some of them. And they spoke to the king of Assyria, say- 
ing : The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in 
the cities of Samaria, know not the custom of the Grod of the 
land. And he has sent lions among them ; and, behold, they 
slay them, because they know not the custom of the God of 

2' the land. Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying: 
Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from 
thence ; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach 

2s them the custom of the God of the land. And one of the 
priests, whom they had carried away captive from Samaria, 
came and dwelt in Beth-el ; and he taught them how they 

2^ should fear Jehovah. But every nation made its own god ; 
and they put them in the houses on the high places which 
the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein 

3^ they dwelt. And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, 
and the men of Cuth made N^ergal, and the men of Hamath 

^^ made Ashima, and the Avites made Kibhaz and Tartak, and 
the Sepharvites burned their children in fire to Adrammelech 

^2 and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. So they feared 
Jehovah, and made to themselves from all of them priests of 
the high places ; and they sacrificed for them in the houses 

3^ on the high places. They feared Jehovah, and served their 
own gods, after the manner of the nations from which they 

^* were brought away. Unto this day they do after the former 
customs ; they fear not Jehovah. And they do not after 

V. 27. Let them go ; the priest, and his necessary attendants and assistants. V. 28. 

Bethel. One of the places where Jeroboam set up the golden calves, as Israel's gods who 

brought thera up out of Egypt, 1 Kings 12 : 28. V. 30. Succoth-benoth, the name of their 

god. Or, as it may be translated, daughteis' tents, for the impure rites connected with the 

worship of some idol deities. V. 32. Feared Jehovah; professedly, as in the worship of 

the golden calves, calling it Jehovah- worship, 2 Kings 17 : 9.— From all of them. See 1 Kings 

12 : 31. V. 34. They do ; the colonists.— r/te»/ do not ; the remnant of the Israelites. See 

the last clause. 

335 



Chap, xviii. II. KINGS. 



their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law, and 
after the commandment which Jehovah commanded the chil- 

^^ dren of Jacob, whom he named Israel ; with whom Jehovah 
made a covenant, and commanded them, saying : Ye shall 
not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve 

^^ them, nor sacrifice to them ; but Jehovah, who brought you 
up out of the land of Egypt, with great power and with an 
outstretched arm, him shall ye fear, and to him shall ye bow 

^^ yourselves, and to him shall ye sacrifice. And the statutes, 
and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, 
which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore ; 

^- and ye shall not fear other gods. And the covenant that I 
have made with you ye shall not forget ; nor shall ye fear 

^^ other gods ; but Jehovah your Grod ye shall feaj ; and he 

*^ will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. And 

^1 they did not hearken, but did after their former manner. So 
these nations feared Jehovah, and served their graven images, 
both their children, and their children's children. As did 
their fathers, so do they unto this day. 

1 Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, 
king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, 

2 began to reign. Twenty and five years old was he when he 
began to reign ; and he reigned twenty and nine years in 
Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi, the daughter 

^ of Zachariah. And he did that which was right in the sight 
of Jehovah, according to all that David his father did. 

* He removed the high places, and broke the images, and 
cut down the Ashera, and broke in pieces the brazen serpent 
that Moses made. For unto those days the children of Israel 

^ burned incense to it ; and it was called Nehushtan. He 
trusted in Jehovah, God of Israel ; and after him there was 
none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor of them 

^ that were before him. And he clave to Jehovah. He 

V. 41. These nations. Collectively ; the colonists, and the remnants of Israel. They feared 
Jehovah, so-called, by maintaining the Bethel worship, and they served their graven images. 

Chs. xviii-xx. Compare 2 Chron. xxix-xxxii., and Is. xxxvi-xxxix. V. 4. Brazen serpent. 

Num. 21 : 8, 9. — Nehushtan; its name, so called from being made of brass. 

336 



n. KINGS. Chap. xvin. 



turned not away from following him, and kept his command- 

■^ ments, which Jehovah commanded Moses. And Jehovah 
was with him ; he prospered whithersoever he went forth ; 
and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him 

^ not. He smote the Philistines, even unto Graza, and the 
borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the 
fenced city. 

^ And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, 
which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of 
Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against 

1^ Samaria, and laid siege to it. And at the end of three years 
they captiured it ; in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is the 
ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, was Samaria captured. 

^^ And the king of Assyria carried Israel away captive to 
Assyria, and put them in Halah and on the Habor the river 

1' of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes ; because they 
obeyed not the voice of Jehovah their God, and transgressed 
his covenant, all that Moses the servant of Jehovah com- 
manded, and would not hearken, nor do them. 

*3 Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, Sennacherib 
king of Assyria came up against all the fenced cities of Judah, 

^* and took them captive. And Hezekiah, king of Judah, sent 
to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying : I have done 
wrong ; return from me ; that which thou puttest on me will 
I bear. And the king of Assyria laid upon Hezekiah, king 
of Judah, three hundred talents of silver, and thirty talents 

1^ of gold. And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was 
found in the house of Jehovah, and in the treasures of the 

^^ king's house. At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold 
from the doors of the temple of Jehovah, and from the pil- 
lars, which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave 
it to the king of Assyria. 

1' And the king of Assyria sent Tartan, and Rabsaris, and 
Rab-shakeh, from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great 
host, to Jerusalem ; and they went up and came to Jerusa- 

V. 13. The statements in this and the followin!^ verses are very much abrirlpfod, compared 
with those contained in the Aasyriau monuments. But these folly accord with the Biblical 
account in all essential points, 

337 



Chap. xvm. II. KINGS. 



lem. And they came up, and came and stood by the con- 
duit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's 

^^ field. And they called to the king. And there came out to 
them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the house- 
hold, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the 

^^ recorder. And Rab-shakeh said to them, speak now to 
Hezekiah : Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria : 

20 What confidence is this wherein thou trustest ? Thou say est 
(but they are empty words) : There is counsel and strength 
for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rc- 

21 bellest against me ? Now, behold, thou trustest upon the 
staff of this bruised reed, upon Egypt, on which if a man 
lean it will go into his hand, and pierce it. So is Pharaoh, 

22 king of Egypt, to all that trust in him. But if ye say to me : 
We trust in Jehovah our Grod ; is it not he whose high places, 
and whose altars, Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to 
Judah and Jerusalem, ye shall worship before this altar in 

23 Jerusalem ? And now, I pray, make an agreement with my 
lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver to thee two thou- 

• sand horses, if thou art able on thy part to set riders upon 

2^ them. How then wilt thou turn away the face of one cap- 
tain, among the least of my master's servants ? And thou 
puttest thy trust in Egypt, for chariots and for horsemen. 

2^ Am I now come up without Jehovah against this place to 
destroy it ? Jehovah said to me : Go up against this land, 

2^ and destroy it. Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and 
Shebna, and Joah, to Rab-shakeh : Speak, I pray thee, to 
thy servants in the Syrian language ; for we understand it ; 
and talk not with us in the Jews' language, in the ears of the 

2"^ people that are on the wall. And Rab-shakeh said to them : 
Has my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak 
these words ? Is it not to the men who sit on the wall, to 



V. 17. There was an interval of some time before this second invasion. In the mean time 
Hezekiah, relying on the support of Egypt (vs. 21, 24), had again thrown off the Assyrian 
yoke.— Tartan, Babsaris, Rdb-shakeh are official titles; the first of an Assyrian General, the 
second and third of high officers of the court. Conduit of the upper pool. See Is. 7 : 3, and 

the notes.— Fuller's field ; where garments, after cleansing or fulling, were spread to dry. 

V. 18. Eliakim, See Is. 22 : 2Q-22.~ Recorder ; the king's annalist. See 2 Sam. 8 : 16. 

338 



n. KINGS. Chap. xe. 



eat tlieir own dung, and drink their own urine with you ? 

2^ Then Rab-shakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the 
Jews' language, and spoke, saying : Hear the word of the 

29 great king, the king of Assyria. Thus says the king : Let 
not Hezekiah deceive you ; for he will not be able to deliver 

^° you out of his hand. And let not Hezekiah make you trust 
in Jehovah, saying : Jehovah will surely deliver us, and this 
city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 

^^ Hearken not to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of As- 
syria : Make peace with me, and come out to me ; and eat ye 
every one of his own vine, and every one of his fig-tree, and 

22 drink ye every one the waters of his cistern ; until I come 
and take you away, to a land like your own land ; a land of 
corn and new wine, a land of bread and of vineyards, a land 
of oil olive and of honey, that 3^e may live, and not die ; 
and hearken not to Hezekiah, when he persuades you, say- 

^^ ing : Jehovah will deliver us. Have the gods of the nations 
delivered [each] his land out of the hand of the king of 

2* Assyria ? Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad ? 
Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah, that 

2^ they should have delivered Samaria out of my hand. Who 
are they among all the gods of the countries, that have de- 
livered their country out of my hand, that Jehovah should 

2^ deliver Jerusalem out of my hand ? And the people held 
their peace, and answered him not a word. For it was the 

3^ king's commandment, saying : Answer him not. Then came 
EUakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, 
and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the re- 
corder, to Hezekiah with garments rent, and told him the 
words of Rab-shakeh. 

^ And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he 
rent his garments, and covered himself with sackcloth, and 

^ went into the house of Jehovah. And he sent EHakim, who 
was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the 
elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the 

2 prophet, the son of Amoz. And they said to him, thus say« 

339 



Chap. xix. II. KINGS. 



Hezekiah : This day is a day of distress, and of chastisement, 
and of reproach. For the children are come to the birth, 

^ and there is not strength to bring forth. It may be that 
Jehovah, thy God, will hear all the words of Rab-shakeh, 
whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to reproach 
the living God ; and will reprove the words which Jehovah, 
thy God, has heard. Wherefore lift up thy prayer for the 

^remnant that are left. And the servants of king Hezekiah 
came to Isaiah. 

^ And Isaiah said to them : Thus shall ye say to your master ; 
thus says Jehovah : Be not afraid because of the words which 
thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of As- 

■^ Syria have reproached me. Behold, I will put a spirit in 
him, and he shall hear tidings, and shall return to his own 
land ; and I will cause him to fall by the sword, in his own 
land. 

^ So Rab-shakeh returned, and found the l^ing of Assyria 
warring against Libnah ; for he heard that he had removed 

^ from Lachish. And he heard it said of Tirhakah king of 
Ethiopia : Behold, he has come out to fight against thee. And 

^^ he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, thus shall ye 
speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying : Let not thy God 
in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying : Jerusalem shall 

^^ not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, 
thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all 
lands, destroying them utterly ; and shalt thou be delivered ? 

^2 Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers 
have destroyed, — Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the 

^^ children of Eden which are in Thelasar? Where is the king 
of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city 
Sepharvaim, of Hena, and of Ivah? 

1* And Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the mes- 
sengers, and read it. And Hezekiah went up to the house 

^^ of Jehovah, and spread it before Jehovah. And Hezekiah 
prayed before Jehovah, and said : Jehovah, God of Israel, 



V. 7. I will put a spirit in him ; a spirit of alarm and feax. — Tidings ; of the destruction of 
bis army, vs. 35, 36. — To fall hy the sword ; v. 37. 

340 



II. KINGS. Chap. xix. 



who sittest above the cherubim. Thou art the God, thou 
alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth ; thou hast made the 

^^ heavens and the earth. Bow down thine ear, Jehovah, and 
hear ; open thine eyes, Jehovah, and see ; and hear the 
words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the 

1"^ living God. Of a truth, Jehovah, the kings of Assyria have 

^^ destroyed the nations and their lands ; and have cast their 
gods into the fire ; for they were no gods, but the work of 
men's hands, wood and stone ; and they have destroyed them. 

^^ And now, Jehovah our God, I beseech thee, save us out of 
his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know, that 
thou Jehovah art God, thou only. 

20 And Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent to Hezekiah saying, 
thus says Jehovah God of Israel : That which thou hast 
prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have 

21 heard. This is the word that Jehovah has spoken concern- 
ing him : — 

She despises thee, she scorns thee, the virgin, daughter of Zion. 
She shakes her head after thee, the daughter of Jerusalem. 

22 Whom hast thou reproached and reviled? 
Against whom hast thou lifted up the voice? 
Thou hast raised thine eyes on high, 
Against the Holy one of Israel. 

23 By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and said : 
I come up, with my chariots upon chariots, 

To the height of the mountains, 

To the sides of Lebanon. 

And I cut down its loftiest cedars, 

And its choicest cypresses ; 

I come to its utmost height, to its garden forest. 

24 I dig, and I drink the waters of strange nations, 

And dry up with tho sole of my feet all the streams of Egypt. 



V. 21. Virgin, daughter of Zion. Daughter of a city or country is put poetically for the 
people of the place ; and thus the whole body of inhabitants is personified as a female, also 
called a virgin,— as in the text. It is the opinion of some critics, that by virg in daughter ia 
meant a people that remain inviolate, having never been subjected to a foreign power, and 
that this may properly be said of Zion, the city of David, in distinction from Jerusalem. But 
this opinion needs corroboration. — Some translate, "the virgin daughter, Zion ;" but the ren- 
dering in the t.-xt is more probably the correct one. — -SViafces her head ; a gesture of mockery, 
Ps. 22 : 7 ; 109 : 2rj.— After thee ; as already put to flight. 

VV. 23, 21. To hira there are no obstacles ; neither inaccessible mouatains, nor lands with- 
out water, nor impassable rivers. 

341 



Chap. xix. II. KINGS. 



25 Hast thou not heard? From far off time have I done it, 
From days of old, and formed it. 

Now have I brought it to pass ; 
That thou shouldst be to lay waste 
Fenced cities, in heaps of ruins. 

26 And their inhabitants were weak-handed, 
They were dismayed, and they were confounded ; 
They were as grass of the field, and as the green herb ; 

As grass on the house-tops, as blighted corn before the stalk. 

27 And thy sitting down, and thy going out, and thy coming in, I know, 
And thy raging against me. 

28 Because thy raging against me, and thine arrogance, 
Have come up into mine ears ; 

I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bit in thy lips, 
And will turn thee back, by the way in which thou earnest. 

29 And this shall be the sign to thee. 

Eat, this year, that which grows of itself ; 

And in the second year, that which springs up from the same ; 

And in the third year, sow and reap, 

And plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof. 

30 And the escaped of the house of Judah that are left, 
Shall again take root downward. 

And bear fruit upward. 

31 For from Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, 
And escaped ones from mount Zion. 

The zeal of Jehovah will do this. 

^2 Therefore, thus says Jehovah concernmg the kmg of As- 
syria ; — 

He shall not come into this city. 
He shall not shoot an arrow there, 
Nor bring a shield before it. 
Nor cast up a mound against it. 

33 By the way by which he came shall he return, 
And into this city he shall not come, says Jehovah. 

34 And I will protect this city, to save it. 

For my sake, and for my servant David's sake. 



V. 25. Have I done it ; enacted it, in the divine purpose.— J.nd formed it ; shaped and 
directed it, in the divine mind and purpose. 

Y. 28. Hook. Or, as the word may be translated, ring ; such as was put into the nostrils of 
refractory animals, to lead them. It is shown by sculptures on the Assyrian monuments, that 
prisoners of rank were thus led like beasts, by rings inserted in the lip or the nostrils. 

V. 29. Sign. Much has been written on what is here given as a sign, to show what is meant 
by the sign itself, and how such a sign could be a pledge of the promised dehverance. (See 
the discussions in Dr. Schaflf's edition of Lange's Commentary). It seems clear, however, 
that it must be of the same nature as that given to Moses in Ex. 3 : 12. See Is. 7 : li, and 
the writer's notes on his revised version, and on the Hebrew text.— G^rows of ilself ; without 
planting, from seed dropped ia harvests of the previous yea.r.— Springs up from the same ; an 
after-growth from the roots. 

342 



II. KINGS. Chap. xx. 



^^ And it came to pass that night, that the angel of Jehovah 
went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hiiri- 
dred fourscore and five thousand ; and when men rose early 

3° in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. And 
Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, 

2^ and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was wor- 
shipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech 
and Sharezer his sons smote liim with the sword ; and they 
escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esar-haddon his son 
reigned in his stead. 

^ In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the 
prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said to 
him, thus says Jehovah : Set thy house in order ; for thou 

2 shalt die, and shalt not live. Then he turned his face to the 

^ wall, and prayed to Jehovah, saying : I beseech thee, Jeho- 
vah, remember now, how I have walked before thee in truth 
and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good 

^ in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And it came to 
pass, that Isaiah had not yet gone out into the midst of the 

^ city, when the word of Jehovah came to him, saying : Turn 
again, and say to Hezekiah the prince of my people, thus 
says Jehovah, the God of David thy father : I have heard 
thy prayer, I have seen thy tears. Behold, I will heal thee ; 
on the third day thou shalt go up to the house of Jehovah. 

® And I will add to thy days fifteen years ; and I will deliver 
thee, and this city, out of the hand of the king of Assyria ; 
and 1 will protect this city, for my sake and for my servant 

' David's sake. And Isaiah said : Bring a cake of figs. And 
they brought and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. 

^ And Hezekiah said to Isaiah : What is the sign that Jeho- 
vah will heal me. and that I shall go up to the house of 

^ Jehovah the third day ? And Isaiah said : This sign shalt 
thou have from Jehovah, that Jehovah will do the thing 
that he has spoken. Shall the shadow go forward ten de- 

^° grees, or go back ten degrees ? And Hezekiah answered : 
It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees. 

343 



Chap. xxi. II. KINGS. 



^^ Nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. And 
Isaiah the prophet cried to Jehovah ; and he caused the 
shadow to return, on the dial where it had gone down, on 
the dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. 

^2 At that time Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king 
of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah ; for he 

^^ heard that Hezekiah was sick. And Hezekiah hearkened to 
them ; and he showed them all his treasure-house, the silver, 
and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and 
all the house of his armor, and all that was found in his 
treasures. There was nothing in his house, nor in all his 
realm, that Hezekiah showed them not. 

^* Then came Isaiah the prophet to king Hezekiah, and said 
to him : What said these men ? And from whence came 
they to thee ? And Hezekiah said : They came from a far 

^^ country, from Babylon. And he said : What have they seen 
in thy house ? And Hezekiah answered : All that is in my 
house have they seen ; there is nothing among my treasures, 

^^ that I have not showed them. And Isaiah said to Hezekiah : 

1^ Hear the word of Jehovah. Behold, the days come, that 
all that is in thy house, and that which thy fathers have laid 
up in store unto this day, shall be carried to Babylon ; noth- 

1^ ing shall be left, says Jehovah. And of thy sons that shall 
issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away ; 
and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Baby- 

^^ Ion. And Hezekiah said to Isaiah : Grood is the word of 
Jehovah, which thou hast spoken. And he said : Is it not, 
if peace and security be in my days ! 

2^ And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, 
and how he made the pool, and the conduit, and brought 
water into the city, are they not written in the book of the 

21 Chronicles of the kings of Judah ? And Hezekiah lay down 
with his fathers ; and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead. 



Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign ; 
and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his 
mother's name was Hephzi-bah. And he did that which was 

344 



II. KINGS. Chap. xxi. 



evil in the sight of Jehovah, after the abominations of the 
heathen, whom Jehovah drove out before the children of 

^ Israel. For he built up again the high places, which Hezc- 
kiah his father destroyed ; and he reared up altars for Baal, 
and made an Ashera, as did Ahab king of Israel ; and he 

^ worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. And 
he built altars in the house of Jehovah, of which Jehovah 

° said : In Jerusalem will I put my name. And he built 
altars for all the host of heaven, in the two courts of the 

^ house of Jehovah. And he made his son pass through the 
fire ; and he used magic, and divination, and dealt with divin- 
ing spirits and wizards. He wrought much wickedness in the 

^ sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger. And a carved 
image of Ashera, that he had made, he set up in the house 
of which Jehovah said to David, and to Solomon his son : In 
this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all 

^ the tribes of Israel, will I put my name forever. And I will 
not make the feet of Israel wander any more from the land 
which I gave to their fathers ; if only they will take heed to 
do according to all that I have commanded them, and accord- 
ing to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them. 

^ And they hearkened not ; and Manasseh seduced them to do 
more evil, than did the nations w^hom Jehovah destroyed 
before the children of Israel. 
^^ And Jehovah spoke by his servants the prophets, saying : 
^^ Because Manasseh, king of Judah, has done these abomina- 
tions, has done wickedly above all that the Amorites did who 
were before him, and has caused Judah also to sin with his 
^- idols ; therefore thus says Jehovah, God of Israel : Behold, 
I bring evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever 
^^ hears of it, both his ears shall tingle. And I will stretch over 
Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house 

V. 3. Worshipped all the host of heaven. From this time Pabaism, or star-worship, became 
prevalent among the Jews. See ch 23 : 5, 11 ; and compare Jer. 19 : 13 ; Ezek. 8 : IG ; Zeph. 

1 : 5. V. G. Diriniiig-spirils. See Is. 8 : 19, and tlic writer's notes on liis revised version 

and the Hebrewtext. V. 13. In architecture, the line and iha plummet determine the hori- 
zontal level, and the perpendicular direction, of any structure. What varies from either ia 
contrary to right rule, and will not stand. When God says (Is. 28 : 17), " I will put justice for 

315 



Chap, xxl II. KINGS. 



of Ahab ; and I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, 

^^ wiping it, and turning it upside down. And I will cast off 
the remnant of my inheritance, and give them into the hand 
of their enemies ; and they shall become a prey and a spoil 

^^ to all their enemies ; because they have done that which was 
evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the 
day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this 
day. 

^^ Moreover, Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till 
he had filled Jerusalem from one end to the other ; besides 
his sin wherewith he caused Judah to sin, in doing that 
which was evil in the sight of Jehovah. 

^■^ Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did. 
and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book 

^^ of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah ? And Manasseh 
lay down with his fathers ; and he was buried in the garden 
of his own house, in the garden of Uzza ; and Anion his son 
reigned in his stead. 

^^ Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to 
reign ; and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his 
mother's name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of 

20 Jotbah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of 

21 Jehovah, as his father Manasseh had done. And he walked 
in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols 

22 that his father served, and worshipped them. And he for- 
sook Jehovah, the Grod of his fathers, and walked not in the 
way of Jehovah. 

2^ And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew 
2^ the king in his own house. And the people of the land slew 

all that conspired against king Anr.on ; and the people of the 
2'^ land made Josiah his son king in his stead. Now the rest 

of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in 
26 the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah ? And he 

was buried in his sepulchre, in the garden of Uzza. And 

Josiah his son reigned in his stead. 

a line, and righteousness for a plummet," he means that he will exact strict conformity to 
what is just and right. The same rule, by which Samaria and Ahab were iudsed, shall be 
applied to Jerusalem. 

346 



n. KINGS. Chap. xxn. 



^ JosiAH was eight years old when he began to reign ; and 
he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his 
mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of 

2 Boscath. And he did that which was right in the sight of 
Jehovah, and walked in all the way of David his father, and 
turned not aside to the right hand or to the left. 

2 And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, 
that the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of 

* Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of Jehovah, saying : Go 
up to Hilkiah the high-priest, that he may sum up the money 
which has been brought into the house of Jehovah, which 

^ the keepers of the door have gathered from the people, and 
may give it into the hand of them that do the work, hav- 
ing the oversight of the house of Jehovah ; and that they 
may give it to the doers of the work who are in the house 

^ of Jehovah, to repair the breaches of the house ; to carpen- 
ters, and builders, and masons, and to buy timber and hewn 

^ stone to repair the house. But let there be no reckoning 
with them of the money that is delivered into their hand, 
for they deal faithfully. 

^ And Hilkiah the high-priest said to Shaphan the scribe : I 
have found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah. 
And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 

^ And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought back 
word to the king, and said : Thy servants have emptied out 
the money that was found in the house, and have given it 
into the hand of them that do the work, having the ovcr- 

^° sight of the house of Jehovah. And Shaphan the scribe 
told the king, saying : Hilkiah the priest has delivered to me 

^^ a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. And it came 
to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of 

^- the law, that he rent his clothes. And the king commanded 
Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and 
Achbor the son of ^lichaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and 

13 Asahiah a servant of the king, saying: Go ye, inquire of 
Jehovah on my behalf, and on behalf of the people, and on 

347 



Chap. xxin. II. KINGS. 



behalf of all Judah, on account of the words of this book 
that is found. For great is the wrath of Jehovah that is 
kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened 
to the words of this book, to do according to all that which 

1^ is written concerning us. And Hilkiah the priest, and Ahi- 
kam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went to Huldah 
the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tikvah the 
son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. And she dwelt in 
Jerusalem in the lower city ; and they talked with her. 

"^ And she said to them, thus says Jehovah, God of Israel : 

1^ Tell the man who sent you to me, thus says Jehovah : Be- 
hold, I bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants 
thereof, all the words of the book which the king of Judah 

1^ has read. Because they have forsaken me, and have burned 
incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger 
with all the works of their hands ; and my wrath is kindled 

^^ against this place, and shall not be quenched. And to the 
king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of Jehovah, thus 
shall ye say to him : Thus says Jehovah, God of Israel, As 

1^ to the words which thou hast heard, — because thy heart was 
tender, and thou didst humble thyself before Jehovah, when 
tliou heardst what I had spoken against this place, and 
against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a 
desolation and accursed, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept 

20 before me ; I also have heard, says Jehovah. Therefore 
behold, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt 
be gathered to thy graves in peace ; and thine eyes shall not 
loolv on all the evil which 1 will bring upon this place. And 
they brought back word to the king. 

^ And the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders 
2 of Judah, and of Jerusalem. And the king went up to the 
house of Jehovah, and all the men of Judah and all the in- 
habitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the 

V. 20. Thy graves, graves of thine ancestors ; thine in that sense, and thine as thou shalt 
be gathered among them. — Observe that gathered to one's fathers is here, as elsewhere, distin- 
guished from gathered to their graves ; an intimation among many of a belief in a continued 
existence beyond the grave. See Gen. 25 : 8 (and the writer's notes), and 35 : 23. 

348 



II. KINGS. Chap. xxni. 



prophets, and all the people, both small and great ; and he 
read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant, 
which was found in the house of Jehovah. 

^ And the king stood on the platform, and made the covenant 
before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah, and to keep his com- 
mandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all the 
heart and all the soul, to perform the words of this covenant 
that were written in this book. And all the people joined in 

* the covenant. And the king commanded Hilkiah the high- 
priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers 
of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of Jehovah all 
the vessels that were made for Baal, and for Ash era, and for 
all the host of heaven ; and he burned them outside of Jeru- 
salem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the dust thereof to 

^ Beth-el. And he put away the idol-priests, whom the kings 
of Judah had appointed, and they burned incense on the 
high places in the cities of Judah, and round about Jerusa- 
lem ; th^in also that burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and 
to the moon, and to the constellations, and to all the host of 

^ heaven. And he brought out the Ashera from the house of 
Jehovah, outside of Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron. And 
he burned it at the brool?: Kidron, and stamped it small to 
powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the 

■^ common people. And he tore down the houses of the sod- 
omites, that were by the house of Jehovah, where the women. 

^ wove tents for the Ashera. And he brought all the priests 
out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where 
the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beer-sheba. 
And he tore down the high places of the gates ; that at the 
entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, that 

^ on one's left hand at the gate of the city. Yet the priests of 
the high places offered not on the altar of Jehovah in Jeru- 

Y. 3. Tfie plntfoi-m ; 2 f'hron. G : 13, and the note.— 3/arie th^ covenant, renewed it ; the 

covenant made in Horeb (Dent. 5 : 2), and in Moab (Deut. 29 : 1, and 10-15). V. 5. Hound 

aJjout Jenisilem. Covmpare v. 13. — The Asfiera ; statue of the idol, set up by Munasseh in 
the temple f f Jehovah, eh. 21 : 7. Compare the note on oh. 17 : IG, and references there 

given. V. G. Common people; as properly translated in Jer. 2G : 23. Their fjravcs were 

in the open fi(;ld3 ; and the ashes of the idol cast on them would pollute no one, since b^avcfl 
were Bhunncd as unclean. 

349 



Chap. xxm. H. KINGS. 



salem ; but they ate unleavened bread among their brethren. 

^^ And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the sons of 
Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter 

^1 pass through the fire to Molech. And he took away the 
horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, from 
the entering into the house of Jehovah to the chamber of 
Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the colonnade, 

^2 and burned the chariots of the sun with fire. And the altars 
that were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which 
the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh 
had made in the two courts of the house of Jehovah, did 
the king tear down, and broke them down thence, and cast 

^3 the dust thereof into the brook Kidron. And the high places 
that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand 
of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel 
built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for 
Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom 
the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king 

1^ defile. And he broke in pieces the images, and cut down 
the Asheras, and filled their place with the bones of men. 

^^ And also the altar that was at Beth-el, the high place which 
Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, had 
made, both that altar and the high place he tore down, and 
burned the high place, stamped it small to powder, and 

^^ burned the Ashera. And Josiah looked about him, and saw 
the sepulchres that were there in the mount. And he sent, 
and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them 
on the altar, and polluted it ; according to the word of Jeho- 
vah, which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed 

^^ these things. And he said : What pillar is this that I see ? 
And the men of the city said to him : It is the sepulchre of 
the man of God, who came from Judah, and proclaimed 
these things which thou hast done, against the altar of Beth-el. 



v. 16. Saw the sepuichres. "Beth-el stands upon a low hill, between the courses of two shal- 
low wadys. . . . The sepulchres were probably in the rocky sides of this valley." (Speaker''s 

Comnienlary). — According to the word of Jehovah. See 1 Kings 13 : 2 V. 17. Pillar; a 

short column, marking the place of a grave, like the pillar set up by Jacob over Rachel's grave, 
Gen. 35 : 20. 

350 



II. KINGS. Crat. xxin. 



^^ And he said : Let him alone ; let no man move his bones. So 
they rescued his bones, with the bones of the prophet who 

^^ came out of Samaria. And also all the houses on the high 
places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of 
Israel had made to provoke [Jehovah] to anger, Josiah took 
away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had 

20 done in Beth-el. And he slew all the priests of the high 
places that were there, upon the altars, and burned men's 
bones upon them. And he returned to Jerusalem. 

2^ And the king commanded all the people, saying : Keep the 
passover to Jehovah your God, as is written in this book of 

22 the covenant. For there had not been held such a passover 
from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the 

23 days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah ; but 
in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, was this passover held 
to Jehovah in Jerusalem. 

2^ And also the divining-spirits, and the wizards, and the 
household images, and the idols, and all the abominations 
that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did 
Josiah put away ; that he might perform the words of the 
law, which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest 

2^ found in the house of Jehovah. And like to him was there 
no king before him, who turned to Jehovah with all his 
heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according 
to all the law of Moses ; nor after him arose there any like 
him. 

2^ Yet Jehovah turned not from the fierceness of his great 
anger, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, 
because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had 

2' provoked him. And Jehovah said : I will remove Judah 
also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel ; and I will 
cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the 



v. 18. Samaria. Not tho city, but the country. He was nn Israelitish prophet. V. 24. 

Household images. Literally, teraphim. See Judges 17 : 5, and 1 Sam. 1.) : 13, 16. V. 20. 

Notwithstanding tho vigorous and thorough measures of the government, the people were not 
reclaimed. False religions had struck their roots too deep in tho minds of tho people, to be 
rooted out by external reforms, and enforced outward obedience. This was showa iu tho 
Buccceding reign. Compare Jer. 3 : C-11.) 

351 



Chap. xxiv. II. KINGS. 



28 house of which I said : My name shall be there > Now the 
rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not 
written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah ? 

2^ In his days Pharaoh-necho, khig of Egypt, went up 
against the king of Assyria, to the river Euphrates. And 
king Josiah went against him ; and he slew him at Megiddo, 

^^ when he saw him. And his servants conveyed him dead in 
a chariot from Megiddo ; and they brought him to Jerusalem, 
and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people of the 
land took Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, and anointed him, 
and made him king in his father's stead. 

^^ Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began 
to reign j and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And 
his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah 

^2 of Libnah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of 

^^ Jehovah, according to all that his fathers had done. And 
Pharaoh-necho put him in prison at Piblah in the land of 
Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem ; and he laid 
upon the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver, and a 

^^ talent of gold. And Pharaoh-necho made Eliakim, the son 
of Josiah, king in place of Josiah his father ; and he changed 
his name to Jehoiakim, and took Jehoahaz away. And he 

^^ came to Egypt, and died there. And Jehoiakim gave the 
silver and the gold to Pharaoh ; but he assessed the land in 
order to give the money at the command of Pharaoh. He 
exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of 
each one according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh- 
necho. 

^^ Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began 
to reign ; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And 
his mother's name was Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of 

2'^ Rumah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of 
Jehovah, according to all that his fathers had done. 

^ In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, 

V. 1. In 7iis days. In his third year (Dan. 1 : 1); or his fourth year (Jer. 23 : 1). * By 
comparing Berosus with the Canon of Ptolemy, we can fix the date to B. C. 605, which was the 
third completed, and fourth commencing year of this king." (Speaker's Commentary.)-^ 

352 



II. KINGS. Chap. xxiv. 



and Jehoiakim became his servant three years ; then he 

2 turned, and rebelled against him. And Jehovah sent against 
him bands of the Chaldgeans, and bands of the Syrians, and 
bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Amnion ; 
and he sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to 
the word of Jehovah, which he spoke by his servants the 

^ prophets. Only at the command of Jehovah came this upon 
Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of 

* Manasseh, in all that he did ; and also for the innocent blood 
that he shed, and filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and 
Jehovah would not pardon. 

^ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, 
are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the 

^ kings of Judah? And Jehoiakim lay down with his fathers ; 

^ and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. And the king 
of Egypt came no more out of his land ; for the king of 
Bab3don had taken all, from the river of Egypt to the river 
Euphrates, that belonged to the king of Egypt. 

® Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign ; 
and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's 
name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 

^ And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, 

according to all that his father had done. 

^^ At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar, king of 

Babylon, came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. 

^^ And Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came against the city ; 

^2 and his servants laid siege to it. And Jehoiachin the king 

of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his 

mother, and his servants, and his nobles, and his officers ; 

and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his 

1' reign. And he carried out thence all the treasures of the 

house of Jeliovah, and the treasures of the king's house, and 

cut in pieces all the vessels of gold, which Solomon king of 

Israel had made in the temple of Jehovah, as Jehovah had 



ReheUed ngnhui'. him. Probably relying on the king of Egypt, whose army was routed by 
Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish, as described by Jeremiah, ch. 46 : 2-13. Compare v. 7 of 

this chapter. V. 12. WiU oiU ; to surrender, without terms of Bubmission. — In theeiglUh 

year of his (Nebuchadnezzar's) reign. 

353 



Chap. xxv. II. KINGS. 



^^ said. And he carried away captive all Jerusalem ; even all 
the nobles, and all the mighty men in wealth, ten thousand 
captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained, 

^^ save the poorest sort of the people of the land. And he 
carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon ; and the king's mother, 
and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of 
the land, carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Baby- 

^^' Ion. And all the men of might, seven thousand, and crafts- 
men and smiths a thousand, all the strong, apt for war, them 
the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon. 

^^ And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, his father's 
brother, king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah. 

^^ Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to 
reign ; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his 
mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of 

1^ Libnah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of 

2^ Jehovah, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. For 
through the anger of Jehovah was it done in Jerusalem and 
in Judah, until he cast them out from his presence. 

1 And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. And 
it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth 
month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar 
king of Babylon came, he and all his host, against Jerusa- 
lem, and encamped against it ; and they built towers against 

2 it round about. And the city was besieged unto the eleventh 
^ year of king Zedekiah. And on the ninth of the month the 

famine was sore in the city, and there was no bread for the 

^ people of the land ; and the city was broken into, and all the 

men of war fled by night, by the way of the gate between 

the two walls, which is by the garden of the king ; and the 

Chaldceans were against the city round about, and he went 

^ by the way toward the plain. And the army of the Chal- 

dseans pursued after the king ; and they overtook him in the 

plains of Jericho, and all his army were scattered from him. 

^ And they seized the king, and brought him up to the king 



VV. 3, 4. The date is that of the storming of the city ; the severity of the prevailing famine, 
weakening the power of resistance, is mentioned in connection with it. Compare Jer. 21 : 1-7. 

354 



n. KINGS. Chap. xxv. 



of Babylon to Riblali ; and they gave judgment upon him. 
■^ And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he 
put out the eyes of Zedekiah ; and they bound him with 
two chains of brass, and brought him to Babylon. 

^ And in the fifth month, on the seventh d^y of the month, 
which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king 
of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, captain of the executioners, 

^ a servant of the king of Babylon, to Jerusalem. And he 
burned the house of Jehovah, and the king's house ; and all 
the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burned he 

^° with fire. And all the army of the Chaldceans, that were 
with the captain of the executioners, tore down the walls of 

^^ Jerusalem round about. And the rest of the people that 
were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the 
king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude, did Nebuzar- 
adan the captain of the executioners carry away captive. 

^2 But the captain of tlie executioners left of the poor of the 

^^ land to be vine-dressers and husbandmen. And the pillars 
of brass that were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases, 
and the brazen sea that was in the house of Jehovah, did 
the Chaldceans break in pieces, and carried the brass thereof 

^^ to Babylon. And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, 
and the censers, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they 

^^ ministered, took they away. And the snuff-dishes, and the 
basins, what was of gold, in gold, and what was of silver, in 

^^ silver, the captain of the executioners took away. The two 
pillars, the one sea, and the bases, which Solomon made for 
the house of Jehovah, the brass of all these vessels was with- 

^' out wciglit. The height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, 
and the capital upon it was brass ; and the height of the 
capital was three cubits ; and lattice-work and pomegranates 
were on the capital round about, all of brass ; and like to 
these had tlie second piUar on hittice-work. 

And the captain of the executioners took Seraiah the chief 



18 



VV. 18-21. Leading and representative men holding official stations, and private men of 
sufficient account in position and numbers, were selected for exemplary punislimcnt, and as a 
warning against further attempts at resistance. For the peraonal character of the agent in 
this transaction, see Jer. 40 : 1-6. 

355 



Chap. xxv. II. KINGS. 



priest, and Zeplianiah the second priest, and three keepers of 

^^ the door ; and out of the city he took an officer that was set 
over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the 
king's presence, who were found in the city, and the scribe 
of the captain of the host, who mustered the people of the 
land, and threescore men of the people of the land that were 

2*^ found in the city. And Nebuzar-adan captain of the execu- 
tioners took these, and brought them to the king of Babylon 

2^ to Riblah. And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew 
them at Biblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was 
carried away captive out of their land. 

22 And the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom 
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, over them he made 

2^ Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler. And 
all the captains of the armies, they and the men, heard that 
the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor. And they 
came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, 
and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhu- 
meth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maacha- 

2* thite, they and their men. And Gedaliah swore to them, 
and to their men, and said to them : Fear not the servants 
of the Chaldseans. Dwell in the land, and serve the king of 
Babylon ; and it shall be well with you. 

25 And it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael 
the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, 
came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he 
died, and the Jews and the Chaldseans that were with him 

2^ at Mizpah. And all the people, both small and great, and 
the captain of the armies, rose up, and came to Egypt ; for 
they were afraid of the Chaldseans. 

2"^ And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the 
captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, 
on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evil- 

V. 21. So Judah was carried away captive out of their land. This transaction completed 
the work of removing the population of the country, in the year 587 before Christ. None of 
any account were left in the land. As a provision against anarchy and misrule, the king 

placed over them a competent ruler, selected from their own people. VY. 23-25. For a 

more detailed account, see Jer. 40 : 7—41 : 3. V. 26. Eose up and came to Egypt. See 

Jer. 42 ; 1-43 : 7. 

353 



11. KINGS. Chap. xxv. 



merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to 

reign, hfted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, out of 

2^ prison. And he spoke kindly to him, and set his throne 

above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon. 

29 And he changed his prison garments, and ate bread continu- 

^^ ally before him, all the days of his life. And his allowance, 

there was given him a continual allowance from the king, a 

daily rate for every day, all the days of his life. 

V. 27. EcU-merodach ; Nebuchadnezzar's son, and his successor B. C. 561. 

Here closes the history of the occupation of Palestine, commenced in the book of Joshua, 
and continued through the books of Judges, Samuel, and Kings, a period of about eight and 
a half centuries. 



The kingdom of Judah was now annihilated. The city of Jerusalem, and the temple of 
Jehovah, were leveled to the ground ; the consecrated vessels of the sanctuary were borne 
away for use in an idol temple ; the population of the country was dispersed in other lands. 
Not a vestige of the nation, or of its institutions, remained. The name of the true God was 
blotted out, in the only place on earth where he had been known and worshipped ; and the 
only people, among whom he had been acknowledged as God, were scattered through nations 
knowing only idol-gods. To all human foresight, the institutions f jr the maintenance of Jeho- 
vah's worship were now extinct, and their restoration hopeless. The light which had illumined 
Palestine was extinguished, and darkness settled down on all the earth. 

But only in pert was the Divine purpose thus terminated. It had a wider field than Pales- 
tine, and a wider scope than that which now came to an end. The dispensation of law, do 
this and live, had been fully tried, under circumstances the most favorable, and by every 
means consistent with human freedom and moral accountability. All had failed ; and in their 
failure had left a lesson of instruction for all mankind. 

But the continuity of the Divine purpose was unbroken. The promise to the world through 
Abraham, " In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed," was yet to be fulfilled. 
In this hope the dispersed exiles were encouraged to return to their own land ; that in them 
might be completed the Divine purpose, by the coming of the promised Deliverer, the Savior 
of mankind. That he came in the fullness of time, is abundantly shown in the record of the 
world's historv. 

357 



NOTES 0^ THE HEBREW TEXT. 



I. Sam. 13 : 1. Literally, Saul was the son of a yf-ar when he began to reign. It is conceded 
by all, that the rendering of the first four words, in our common English version, is a false 
construction of the Heb. text. It is supposed that a letter, expressing the number of years, 
has fallen out of the text. There is nothing to indicate what that number was. 

Ch. 14: : 32. The people flew upon ; the reading of the Keri. 

II. Sam. 2 : 23. The fifth. The Heb. word occurs in five places. In Gen. 47 : 26 it means 
a fifth ; a meaning which should not be sacrificed, for an uncertain etymology, in the other 
four. 

Ch. 3 : 24. Is quite gone. For this use of the Infin. abs., see Ges. Gram. §131, Eem. 1, 
Ewald, Lehrb. 8te Ausg. § 280^ 

Ch. 13 : 16. There is no cause. The form in Heb. is deprecatory. The nearest expression 
of the meaning in English is that of the common version. 

Ch. 15 : 7. Four years. " Forty years " appears to be a clerical error. See the discussion 
in Keil, Lange, Speaker's Commentary, and others. 

Ch. 21 : 9. All seven. The dual form indicates seven-fold ; an emphasis best expressed 
by the all of the common version. 

Ch. 22 : 51. Great deliverances, etc. ; as in Kethib. 

I. Kings 12 : 4. Somewhat best expresses the force of the Heb. particle ; lighten from 
it, by taking a part from it. 

Ch. 15 : 13. An idol. So Gesenius ; and without doubt correctly. The ground-meaning 
of the root is fear or terror, and by metonomy that which inspires fear. Gen. 31 : 42, 43. 
Eiirst, in his lexicon, assuming here the signification horror, supposes a Phallus-image to be 
meant. But the horror expressed by a derivative of the verb (Ps. 55 : 5 ; Ezek. 7 : 18) is that 
inspired by fear or dread, not by disgust and aversion. 

Ch. 19 : 4. Asked for his life, that he might die. Ewald's unnatural construction (Lehrb. 
8te Ausg. § 336b) jg far less probable. 

n. Kings 6 : 5. The axe-head. Literally, the iron itself, the part that was iron, in dis- 
tinction from the wooden handle. 

Ch. 10 : 24. The man who lets one escape. The verb should be pointed as Piel, and not as 
Niphal in the common Heb. text. 

358 
• . THE END. 



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